One man and Six kids
by Keizura Manjuroh
Summary: What if all the concours participants, except Len, were victimed children of human trafficking? And Len knows the only way yo save them, is to adopt them. Hence begins the comical and dramatic tale of one man and six kids.
1. First Meeting

Hey all, I was going through my story when I came across loads of grammatical mistakes… so I went to republish all the chapters. Hahaha.

For new readers, this story revolves around Len who is now a guardian of six children. Heh heh heh. It's filled with fun and laughter, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it (:

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Chapter 1: First Meeting

The air was bitterly cold and the ground frozen solid. Snowflakes fell against the background of a dark starry sky. In the day, Tokyo was a busy city coated with a blanket of white frosting. But at night it was a different landscape. The snow had stopped falling by then, and whatever had melted in the day started to freeze. Frequent flashes from the headlights of cars lighted up the frozen icicles. Somewhere beyond the clump of snow, six children trudged on.

The oldest boy cradled a young girl in his right arm while his left hand held on firmly to the exposed hand of a young boy with orange eyes. Behind him was a boy who was slightly younger than the first. He had his hands on the shoulders of two other kids, a red head and a blonde. The red-haired girl was constantly rubbing her hands together to stay warn, Unable to resist the cold, she sped up to the boy in front.

"Ryou-nii, my hands are freezing!" she wailed.

The green-haired boy stopped in his tracks and looked sadly at the girl. He wished he could help her but he didn't have gloves as well. In fact, none of the children were dressed warmly at all. He reluctantly took off his scarf and wrapped the girl's hands with it.

"But won't you be cold without it?" she asked.

"I'll be fine," he lied. He could already feel the cold creeping up his neck.

"Where are we going?" the young boy who held Ryou's hand asked.

"I'm hungry," Kaho complained.

"And sleepy," the blonde boy remarked.

Ryou sighed painfully. "I...I don't know, but I'll find a place for us stay soon, okay? Just hold on, it'll be over soon. Just hold on."

He said those three words again just to reassure himself. He had no idea where they were going, or what was to become of them. All he knew was that they had to carry on.

It was midnight and almost every light was out. As the six children walked on, they came to a house on a hill. It was a large house with a black Victorian gate and only one room was lit. Inside, someone was playing the violin. The tired children stopped to rest and listen.

In the room, Tsukimori was practicing his violin as usual. He had a concert in a month's time and he wanted it to be perfect by then. As his music crescendo, he gradually approached the climax. Right at the crucial point, the ring of the doorbell broke his concentration. Tsukimori cursed silently as he looked into the screen to see which moron had disrupted his playing. What he saw made him even madder.

"What do you want? I have no business with pesky children like you." Ryou was taken aback by the hostility. "My…My name is Ryoutaro, and I was wondering if you could so kindly give us…" Click. Tsukimori switched off the speaker. Irritating kids, he thought. The other four children huddled around Ryoutaro in cold. The young girl in his arm started to cry. He couldn't let them suffer anymore. After all, it was his fault they were out in the snowy night in the first place.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. The bell rang continuously. Tsukimori was really pissed off now. He punched the speaker button and hollered, "If you don't leave this instance, I'm calling the police!" The children quivered under his voice and Ryoutaro took a deep breath before blurting out, "Please! I'm begging you! We're all so tired and sleepy, and we can't bear this cold anymore. Just one night! Then we'll be gone! Just-" Click. The speaker was switched off again.

Ryoutaro clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He had anticipated it from the start. Who would want to take in a couple of kids who were loitering around the street? But still, he felt a pang of disappointment. As he began to lead the group away, the front gate opened. A blue-haired man swung open the door and a gush if icy wind blew in. "One night." He held up his finger sternly. All the children cried out in relief and flooded into the house. Len quickly closed the door to block out the freezing weather.

* * *

Inside, the children stared in awe. It was a house fit for the wealthy. The floors were marbled and a chandelier hung grandly on the high ceiling. The walls were painted beige and the soft carpet caressed their weary feet. It was big and cozy, and most of all, it was warm.

Tsukimori wondered why he even bothered letting them in. Maybe it was because of the crazy storm brewing outside or the slight pity he felt for them. Either way, he had too much food in his home and didn't mind giving them away. The children threw their outer coats on the floor and hastily propped themselves up on the high dining chairs. A purple-haired boy picked up the coats and folded them. A blonde boy was having difficulty climbing up and Tsukimori lifted him with ease. Whoa, he's light, Len thought. As he looked around, he counted a total of six children. They were all sleepy and tired but they were still talking energetically.

The oldest boy whom Tsukimori talked to previously went up to introduce himself.

"Thank you again. We're really glad."

The other children nodded their heads violently, as if to agree with him.

"I'm Tsuchiura Ryoutaro. He is Yunoki Azuma," pointing to the long purple-haired boy.

"I'm Hihara Kazuki!" a younger boy with green hair beamed. His orange eyes shone. "And she's Hino Kahoko," pointing both arms at the red head.

Kahoko smiled and held out her right hand to point at the blonde boy.

"My name is Shimizu Keichi," the blonde said drowsily before Kahoko had the chance of saying anything. Kahoko then pointed her hand at a young girl with light green hair.

"She's Fuyumi Shouko!" Shouko looked up anxiously. Tsukimori couldn't tell whether her cheeks were red from blushing or from the cold.

"What's your name?" Kahoko asked.

"Me? I'm Tsukimori Len."

"Can we call you Len-nii?"

"No you may not."

Tsukimori went into the kitchen before she could say anymore. When he came out, he carried a large tray of assortments and fruits. Ryoutaro distributed the food evenly and they all said their thanks together. Itadakimasu. The children started to devour the food.

Azuma was chewing on an apple when he turned to Ryoutaro and asked, "Do you think we can really find our parents?" Ryoutaro who was busy feeding Shouko put down his fork.

"I really don't know. But I'm sure we can find them."

"Why don't we try the police?" Azuma queried.

"No! Once we go to the police, the old man will catch us! We can't afford that risk."

Tsukimori wondered what they were gabbling about but decided not to poke his nose into other people's business. He stayed in the living room and watched them eat, afraid that they may steal his stuff and run away. The two boys never brought up that topic again after that.

They look like they haven't eaten in days. Len noticed that they were all very skinny and their skin wrapped their naked skeleton tightly.

When they were done, the four children huddled together on the soft carpet and fell into a deep slumber. Ryoutaro and Azuma stayed back to wash up the plates and utensils. At least these children have mannerism, Len thought satisfactory.

"I'll turn up the floor heater," Tsukimori told Ryoutaro.

After ensuring the children were all comfortable and warm, he retreated into his chambers. Stifling a yawn, he collapsed onto his head and lay awake for a while thinking about his upcoming concert in February before succumbing to sleepiness.

* * *

The next morning, Tsukimori was woken abruptly by a loud crash. He jolted upright and scrambled to see what had caused it. As he flung open the door, his face turned scarlet. Cushions and food were thrashed around the hall. Yoghurt was splayed everywhere, even on the ceiling. The curtains were torn and his sofa was stained with jam. In the middle of it all lay a broken glass table. Two children were running around and laughing, throwing fruit cakes at each other. Kazuki held a tart in each palm; his face was smeared with peanut butter. He took aim at Kahoko. Keichi sat quietly at a corner, hugging a jug of honey and suckling honey off his thumb. Shouko and Azuma were still sleeping while Ryoutaro had probably woken up from the crash too. He stood and gaped in horror at the mess.

Tsukimori stomped forth and grabbed the hand of the giggling girl roughly. She winced in pain but he ignored it.

"Look what you did you my house you brats!" he bellowed.

The house turned deathly quiet. The children stared at him, before covering their mouths to hide their giggling. Kazuki was the first to break into hysteric laughter.

"What's so funny you brat?" Tsukimori snapped.

"Big bro… You… You like a clown!" Kazuki explained between peals of laughter.

The other children started to laugh along. Tsukimori was seriously fuming by now.

"Get out! All of you! Now!"

He opened the door and tossed the girl out. The other children hastily gathered their belongings and scurried out. Ryoutaro tried to apologize and offered to clean his house, but Tsukimori was obviously in no mood to listen. It was a mistake to take them in after all. They had turned his house upside down in just one night. After making sure the children were truly far away, he slammed the door and headed to the bathroom to wash his face.

As he entered the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, he let out a shriek. His fringe was all tied up with a rubber band and he had two ponytails at each side. His face was vandalized with markers. Tsukimori muttered under his breath and viciously washed his face.

Ryoutaro sighed heavily, they had destroyed the house of the person who had given them warmth and food. Shaking his head, he carried Shouko and was about to set off once again when he noticed that she was unusually hot. Upon closer examination, his face went pale. She was shivering uncontrollable and panting heavily. Sweat dripped from her chin and her throat burned with each breath. She was gravely ill.

Tsukimori picked up the phone and dialed his housekeeper's number. As he waited for her to answer, he stepped carefully around the broken glass and into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. The kitchen was in a worse state than the hall.

"Good morning Mr. Tsukimori. How may I help you?" the voice on the other end asked mechanically.

"I need you to clean a very big mess. And fix a broken table."

"Did something happen?"

"A tornado broke in here last night."

The housekeeper coughed. "Anything else?" she asked.

"Yes, one more thing. Bring a ladder," Tsukimori said as he scowled at the ceiling.

"As you wish," the phone died.

Tsukimori exhaled. Placing the phone down, he realized with disgust that it was coated in honey. Urgh.

The bell rang loudly and frightfully. He peered into the speaker with a murderous face and it soon became thunder when he realized that it was the children again.

"What do you want this time? Wrecking my house isn't enough for you? I swear I'll send you all to-"

"Something's wrong!" Ryoutaro interrupted. "Something's wrong! She…She can't breathe!"

Shouko was wheezing as she gasped for air like a fish. Oh God, she has fever. Tsukimori quickly picked up the phone again, ready to dial for the ambulance. Then he hesitated and placed it down. His car would be faster.

Hastily, he drove out his car and shoved the children in. Tsukimori stepped hard on the accelerator and sped towards the hospital. Destroying his house was one thing, and Tsukimori was going to get back at them later. But letting a young kid die in the cold was another. No matter how devilish they were, no kid deserved to die. His Ferrari flew down the road.

As soon as he reached the entrance, he opened the door and the children scrambled out. Carrying Shouko in his arms, he ran up the steps to the reception.

"Hello sir, how may I help you?" The lady behind the counter asked.

Noticing the flushed girl in his arms, she immediately led him into the emergency room, no questions asked.

* * *

The other children chattered nosily, asking the nurse if Shouoko was going to be alright. The nurse smiled and patted their heads.

"She'll be fine, our doctors are the best after all."

As the children waited outside anxiously, Ryoutaro walked up to Tsukimori to thank him again. For the first time, Tsukimori noticed that he was a dark and tall boy. His dark jade eyes were mature and determined.

"I don't know how to thank you. You helped us twice," Ryoutaro said gratefully.

Tsukimori just merely shrugged and glanced away.

"By the way, would you mind telling me what you children are doing in this kind of crazy weather? You guys are not even properly dressed," Len stated, noticing that these children were not wearing any scarves or gloves, just a pair of torn jean pants and a patched up oversized coat. Their shoes were falling apart and their hair stuck to their faces.

"We're from Light Orphanage," Ryoutaro finally said unwillingly. Azuma shot him a look of surprise but Ryoutaro ignored it. "We ran away last night."

"What are you crazy? Even if you want to run away, choose a better day! Don't run away on this sort of crazy night and fall sick," Tsukimori exclaimed.

Ryoutaro settled down explained to him. He explained about how Light Orphanage wasn't a proper orphanage though it was legally approved by the government and that the children there were kidnapped from young. Ryoutaro himself was brought there when he was six. When his parents were killed in a car crash, the kidnappers quickly took him away and the police assumed that he had died together with his parents.

As the years went by, Ryoutaro learned that the orphanage sold the children to work overseas. In the past few months, the number of children declined rapidly, before they knew it, they were the only six left. Then one night, Ryoutaro overheard a conversation of the boss telling his client that he would sell the remaining six children by the end of the week. So he knew that they had to escape or be forever bound to the terrible fate that lay ahead.

Ryoutaro also explained that they hoped to find their parents from this escape. Tsukimori now understood what he and Azuma were discussing the previous night. These children were victims of a cruel criminal.

"Is the orphanage a legal one?" he asked.

"Yes, like I said. Corrupted but legal," Ryoutaro said.

Tsukimori had heard of screwed up orphanages that didn't provide proper living conditions for the children before. But kidnapping them was against the law. If he allowed the children to continue with their plan, they would either get caught or die sooner or later. He couldn't report this matter to the police either. If this sort of corrupted organization could go undetected by the police for so many years, it most probably meant that they had an ally in the police, so bringing these criminals to light would require cautious planning and good connections.

Tsukimori suddenly thought of the mayor whom he had recently become quite acquainted with ever since his first debut in the music society. He's perfect, Tsukimori thought.

He turned to Ryoutaro and said, "I know how to capture those kidnappers, but you need to follow my instructions. I have a good connection with the mayor, and I believe he can track down the organization for you without them knowing. But in the meanwhile, you would have to stay with me. Is that all right with you?"

Ryoutaro could not believe what he was hearing. He got down on his knees and bowed till his forehead touched the floor. Azuma hurriedly joined him and Tsukimori had to urge them to stop it as people were starting to stare.

"Why are you doing this? After how we destroyed your house, and troubled you to send Shouko to the hospital. And to pay for the bill. And-"

"This is because you guys aren't going to survive long if you stay outside. Sooner or later, either the owner will find you or you will die from the cold. In any case, you guys won't make it," he said flatly, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Since your orphanage is a 'legal' one, your boss can't do anything if I adopt you. As of now, I am officially your guardian."

Tsukimori was 21, above the legal age for adoption. He smirked as he thought how the boss would be fuming when he realized the six children had been adopted. And how he would have to answer to his client. Then he thought of the press that would come to know of this news. Since he was a famous musician, it wouldn't be long before someone found out. As well as the responsibility of six children. Not one, but six bouncing kiddies. He thought about how his house would be burned down sooner or later or explode. He groaned. Crap, I'm going to be a father.

* * *

Chapter one comes to an end here (: please review

The ages have not been clearly stated so I'll say it here

Tsukimori Len : 21

Tsuchiura Ryoutaro : 12

Yunoki Azuma : 10

Hihara Kazuki : 8

Hino Kahoko : 7

Shimizu Keichi : 6

Fuyumi Shouko : 4


	2. Settling In

Ohmygosh. Thanks for the reviews :D it really made my day. I shall continue to strive hard and make my story better. I also spotted a couple of grammatical mistake O.O Thanks for pointing it out sheepfonfon (: This is my first story so please be patient…

I've included more stuff and the story will follow the original rather closely from now on. They may appear rather OOC but I'll try to stick to their main personalities as much as possible :D

Since I'm refining my story, I changed the plot a little but nothing changed overall. Hahaha. Have fun reading (:

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Chapter 2 : Settling In

The hospital was a quiet and cold place. Tsukimori leaned back and rested his head on the bleached white wall. Uncrossing his arms, he reached for his handphone. Flipping it open, he pressed the speed dial to the mayor's office. It rang a couple of times before the mayor picked it up.

"Len-kun! My, it's been such a long time. How's the practice coming along?"

The mayor's voice was old but wise. Tsukimori could just imagine him sitting in his leather chair with his desk neatly piled with papers. On his left a golden paperweight would sit on top of a stack.

"I have a favor to ask of you," Tsukimori said.

"Oh? That's rare, what is it?"

Tsukimori told him about his decision to adopt the children. He reminded the mayor to keep it a low profile and specially requested for the mayor to investigate Light Orphanage without their knowing.

"Are you sure about this? I appreciate your good intention to help these children but adopting a child is a great responsibility! And mind you, you want to adopt six?"

The mayor chuckled in disbelief.

"You know me, I'm a prudent guy when it comes to making life-changing decisions," Tsukimori remarked.

The mayor paused for a while before he asked, "You do know the press will find out sooner or later. When they do, what will you say?"

"I'll think of something when that happens," Tsukimori replied.

"Very well. I'll send you their details later in the afternoon."

Tsukimori thanked him before clicking off his phone.

The children were playing a game on the floor. Kazuki and Kahoko held up their hands to make picture of animals while Keichi tried to guess.

"A spider!"

"No, no. it's a butterfly!"

"It looks like a spider."

"It's a pretty butterfly! Isn't it Kazuki?"

Kazuki cocked his head and studied the shape. Finally he said, "Looks like a bird."

A nurse went up to them and gently told them to keep quiet, placing a finger over her lips. The children copied her, placing their own fingers on their lips. Tsukimori couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous they look.

As he continued to watch, a doctor in a white coat walked up to him. "Is the girl yours?" he asked.

"Yes, is her condition serious?" Tsukimori asked.

"She's fine. She just needs to rest, that's all. And eat more, she's so skinny. She'll have to stay here for a couple of days. I'll give you a call when she's ready to be discharged."

Tsukimori thanked him and herded the children into the room to see Shouko.

As she lay asleep on her bed, Len could see the faint rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. A tube was stuck to her hand. Tsukimori gently placed his hand on her head and patted a couple of times. The children took turns to say their wishes and blessings before Tsukimori led them out of the room again.

"Come on, let's go home."

"Where?" Kazuki asked.

"My house," Len turned and smiled at him.

"Then can we call you Len-nii?" Kahoko looked at him with eyes full of wonder and innocence. As Len looked into her eyes, his mind drifted down his memory lane to the time when he was six and he was eating with his parents. Addressing them as Mother and Father, he always put up an air of formality whenever he was around them. He never remembered a time when he had called his Mother Mom or Mommy. It was always Mother.

"Yes you may."

Maybe it was time for a change.

The children chanted his name throughout the entire journey home. Len-nii! Len-nii! Len-nii! Ryoutaro tried to shush them, while Azuma sat silently at one corner, laughing at their childishness. As the children's voices resonated in his ears, Len couldn't help but let a little smile escape from the corner of his mouth.

* * *

Opening the front door, the family was greeted by the housekeeper. She was a fairly plump woman and her chocolate hair was tied up into a bun. She wore an apron over her blue dress.

"Tsukimori-san. Welcome home. The mayor told me about the news," she said as she gazed her amber eyes upon the children.

The glass shards had been swept away and a pail stood in the middle of the hall. She was standing on a ladder with a rag in hand, scrubbing at the ceiling.

"Housekeeper-san?" Kazuki called.

"Yes?"

"We're really sorry you had to clean our mess," he said as he looked down guiltily.

"Housekeeper-san, what's your name? I'm Hino Kahoko!" Kahoko beamed.

"Orichi Megumi, but you can call me Megumi-san," she smiled at them. "By the way, as of now, all of you will be Tsukimori right?"

"Tsu-ki-mo-ri…" Keichi rolled the word around his tongue. Testing it every now and then.

"It's a mouthful," he finally said.

"I like it! It's longer that Hino!"

"Tsukimori sounds like Ski-Moh-Ree when you say it fast, like this!

"Tsukimoritsukimoritsukimori!" Kazuki laughed when he realized how ridiculous it sounded. The rest then joined in, laughing as they tried to further disfigure the word. God, they're making fun of my name, Tsukimori thought.

Azuma turned to the three kids and said gently, "You should help Megumi-san clean the mess since you all made it." "But I didn't do anything," Shimizu gazed his half-open blue eyes at Azuma. "You covered my phone in honey," Tsukimori reminded him sternly. "Ahh… Now I remember…"

The children then picked up the rags and started to clean the stains. Chanting the new word as they worked. Azuma took a mop and washed the kitchen floor while the younger three scrubbed the walls. Ryoutaro was busy taking down the torn curtains when Kahoko peeped from behind a wall and asked, "Len-nii, why aren't you helping?"

Len stood helpless and stared at the mess. It had been such a long time since he touched a broom or did any housework besides washing the dishes and cooking. Megumi did the rest. Looking around for something to do, he spotted his jam-stained sofa. At least I remember how to change my sofa cover, Len scratched his head thoughtfully. He walked over to the sofa and searched for the zip. After some time, he realized with relief that his housework skills weren't so rusty after all.

When they were done, the house was in a better condition than before. Though it was far from the original. The stains on the walls were unable to completely come off and the ceiling had a couple of white splotches. The sofa sat naked on a bare floor and the curtains were gone. In the middle of it all lay a missing glass table. They had taken the entire morning to clean it up.

Looking around, Len mentally penned down a couple of things. New curtain, new sofa cover, new paint coating, new table… His eyes drifted to the children and realized with horror that they still had stains from this morning's food fight. Len added a last thing to his list. Bubble bath for the children.

"Megumi, could you please go out and buy some clothes and furniture? You can use my car,"

Tsukimori said as he took out a credit card from his wallet.

"Which one?"

"The Mercedes. That car is slightly bigger."

Megumi buttoned up her coat and wrapped the scarf tightly around her neck. She opened the door and a cold bitter wind howled into her face. Closing the door behind her, Tsukimori could hear the garage open. He then turned to the children and announced, "Okay! Bath time!" What happen next drove Tsukimori up the wall.

The three young children screamed and scrambled away. "No! No bath! I hate bath time!" Kazuki shouted as he dived for the sofa. "Oi! Don't wipe your face on my cushion!" Len shouted. Keichi struggled to hide in a large vase while Ryoutaro and Azuma grabbed Kahoko before she could climb up onto the top shelf. When they had finally rounded up the children, they marched upstairs. Len held a kicking and bawling kid under each arm while Ryoutaro and Azuma struggled to avoid getting hit by Kahoko.

"I hate bath time. The water's cold and the soap stinks!" Kazuki complained.

No wonder they hate it. Tsukimori thought as he remembered that they came from an orphanage that didn't care about the children's well-being.

"You don't have to worry. The water here is warm and the soap smells really nice," Len said.

"Like flowers?" Kahoko asked.

Len bent down till he was an inch away from her face. "Better than flowers."

The three children struggled free and scrambled to the bathroom, letting out a cry of astonishment as their eyes darted from the ceramic bath tub to the flora shower curtains to the marbled flooring.

"This smells really good. Can I eat it?" Kazuki asked as he prepared to place the bar of soap in his mouth.

"Ahh! You can't eat soap! Put it down!" Len frantically snatched it away.

* * *

Getting the children to shower was an easier task than he had thought. While they splashed around in the tub, Len explained the different types of soap to them.

"This is body soap," picking up a bar of Dove. "This is shampoo, for your hair."

Kazuki clutched the bottle and flipped open the top.

"This smells nice too! Can I drink it?"

"No, you can't drink shampoo either," Len quickly grabbed it before the young boy could pour the liquid into his mouth.

As the three children enjoyed a bubble bath upstairs, Ryoutaro and Azuma used the two toilets downstairs. Leaving the three children in the bathroom, Len walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch. He noticed that the sun was high by then and the wind had clamed down. The air was cold but refreshing. Taking care of these children is really giving me a headache. Rubbing his forehead in pain, Len poured some rice into the rice cooker.

A little while later, Megumi returned with a dozen plastic bags. Len was cooking in the kitchen when he heard the door open.

"Megumi, could you take over the kitchen? I'll bring the clothes and towels to the children," Len wiped his hands on a cloth and took the bags from her.

Ryoutaro and Azuma quickly dressed, but the three children were reluctant to come out. First they don't want to bathe; now they don't want to get out. Len rolled his eyes. As he tried to convince them that staying in the water for too long would make their skin wrinkly, a waft of aroma drifted in. The lovely smell hit the roof of their mouths as the three children took in a deep breath.

"Lunch!" Kazuki shouted.

The three children grabbed the towels, wiped themselves, threw on their clothes and flew downstairs.

By the time Len reaching the dining room, the children were already having seconds. Len clutched the plastic bag of dirty clothes and tossed them into the recycle bin outside.

"Megumi-san! Your cooking's really good!" Kahoko praised.

"Thank you," Megumi smiled. "Here, take more." She scooped up some more vegetables and placed them on Kahoko's plate.

Following lunch, the children were split into their rooms when Kahoko ran into Len's room.

"Len-nii! You have a piano? Awesome!" She stood beneath the upright piano, her shining eyes gazing upon the musical instrument.

"Ryou-nii, play something!" Kazuki urged.

"Ryoutaro can play the piano?" Len was greatly surprised.

"Not really, I just know one tune," Ryoutaro said as he traced his fingers on the keys. Then he sat down, took a deep breath, and began to play. It was a slow and touching song. Ryoutaro's fingers skillfully ran down the keys. Len had never heard of a more beautiful melody.

Ryoutaro finished and gave a little bow, the children clapped and Kazuki gave a little whistle.

"Would you like to continue playing the piano?" Len asked.

Ryoutaro looked at him, surprised. Then he looked at the piano and Len could see the longing and passion to play more in Ryoutaro's eyes.

"My mom used to play the piano, and she taught me that song," Ryoutaro explained.

Len smiled and ruffled his hair.

"I think she would be proud if her son continued in her passion."

Ryoutaro gave a bashful smile and nodded his head in gratitude.

"Awesome, Ryou-nii's gonna be a pianist? I wanna learn too!" Kazuki said as he propped himself on up on the piano and raised his hands. Then he came down with a loud discord.

"I think you have a long way to go," Keichi said calmly.

For the rest of the afternoon, the children watched television and learnt how to use a remote control for the first time in their lives. Megumi and Len painted the stained walls and ceiling and were putting up the new curtain when the delivery for the new table arrived. Before Megumi left, she made some dinner and left them in the oven.

Dinner was noisy but it somehow made the whole house livelier. When it was bedtime, the children's rooms were still empty because the youngest three had crammed into Len's bed while the older two slept on the sofa. They were just not used to sleeping alone.

The next morning, Len woke up to find that his face had been painted pink.

* * *

A few weeks had passed since the children came to the home, and the house was changed in so many ways. The children were finally putting on weight and no longer looked scrawny and lethargic. There were also new furniture for the children's rooms and Len even had to resort to buying a second fridge just to feed the children. There were also 2 new washing machines to accommodate the sudden increase in clothes and outside the door lay 6 more pairs of shoes.

Megumi came more often than she ever did to help out with house-upkeep and meals. On the day Shouko was discharged, the whole gang went to the hospital to receive her. With Shouko, the family was now complete. As they started to adapt to their new surrounding, new rules and regulations had been set. A piece of paper was stuck to the fridge with a magnet and the children had to recite it every morning.

"We will not run in the house. We will not have food fights. We will not play with water or fire. We will not destroy the house. We will not draw on Len-nii's face when he's asleep. We will be good children in this house so that Len-nii will have fewer headaches. If we are good, Len-nii will reward us with stars and we can use them to redeem things that we want." Next to the paper was a chart that showed how many stars each child had. Ryoutaro had the most while Kazuki and Kahoko only had a few.

Each day Len learnt to accept the nosiness and absence of peace and quiet in his house. And each day the children learnt more about the outside world through helping out or watching television. At the beginning, it almost seemed impossible for Len to put up with them until they found their parents, but now, Len was starting to feel as if they had become a part of him. They had become unbearable to live with yet impossible to live without. They had become family.

* * *

Phew. I finally finished this chapter. I realized I kinda dragged this chap abit. I now refer to Tsukimori as Len so as not to confuse the name with the other children. Haha. Stay tuned for Chap 3 (: A new threat will be revealed!


	3. Christmas, the season of Giving

I realized that I made A LOT of typo mistakes… omgg shall try to reduce -_- To people who read chap 1 and 2. Thank you so much for your support. I was practically grinning the whole day when I saw the reviews.

Onward Chapter 3!

* * *

Chapter 3 : Christmas, the season of Giving

_Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride on a one horse open sleigh-HEY!_

_Jingle bells, jingle bells…_

Keichi was sitting on a high chair with his head resting on the table. A radio stood on his left, blaring out Christmas songs. Keichi lazily lifted his finger to switch from station to station.

Click.

_We_ _wish you a merry Christmas. We wish-_

Click.

_Two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree._

Click.

_I'm dreaming, of a white Christmas._

Shouko was glancing around the living room, looking for her hair band when she heard the music. Anxiously, she looked around for the source and saw Keichi lying on the table. "That song is nice," she whispered. Keichi lifted his head slightly and gave a sheepish smile. "Makes you feel as if the snow is falling softly and silently…" Shouko nodded and crept nearer to listen, totally forgetting that she was looking for her hair band. As the two sat quietly to enjoy the music, there came a loud cry from upstairs.

"What? Are you serious?" It was Len. "You can't come today! What? You're already outside? Wait! Amou-san…" Len was interrupted by the doorbell. As the two children sat quietly, they could hear frantic footsteps thumping down the stairs. As Len neared the bottom of the stairs, he jumped off the last few steps, only to slip on the rug at the bottom. He leaned on the stairs railing for support as he struggled to keep his balance.

"Len-kun! Len-kun! Open up! You're not going to let a woman wait in the cold, aren't you?" A voiced from the speaker called. Len rolled his eyes, he patted a wrinkle out of his pants and combed his hair back with his fingers. He opened the front gate by pressing the button on the wall and the children could hear footsteps approaching the door. Not noticing the two children sitting quietly at the dining table, he took and a deep breath, and opened the door.

The sunrays of the gentle morning sun streamed in. A woman was standing in the entrance. The golden sunlight drowned her caramel hair and her vibrant blue eyes sparkled with energy, "I'm busy today. Go away," Len said coldly as he shut the door in her face. Amou stuck out her foot just in time, "You know I can't, I'm on a tight schedule!" Len tried to jab the door shut, but her foot was stubbornly stuck between.

"Oh? Who are those two cute chibis?" Amou asked as she had her eyes set upon the two children on the dining table. What are they doing there? I thought the children were all upstairs! Len thought. Drats no one was supposed to find out!

"Len-nii, who's at the door?" Kahoko exclaimed as she bobbed down the stairs with Kazuki behind. "More? Len-kun, what secret have you been hiding from your beloved reporter?" Len frowned as he reluctantly opened the door wider, "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to write that into the papers." Turning to the children, he said, "Off to your rooms."

"Ehh? Why can't we stay with you?" Kahoko pouted.

"Len-nii is a grown man and needs privacy time with his woman. We mustn't disturb their couple talk," Kazuki explained, trying to act all wise and grown-up as he placed his hand on his chin and scratched his imaginary moustache.

"Stop spouting nonsense you cocky brat," Len was fuming and blushing slightly.

"Oho! Len-nii's blushing!" Kazuki exclaimed as he ducked Len's grab. He and the other children then quickly escaped.

When the children were finally upstairs, Len turned to explain to Amou. But before he could say anything, Amou cut him, "You know I would never fall for a poker-face guy like you, right?"

"P-Poker?!" Len gaped at her. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

* * *

"Orphanage, huh?" Amou drew a long sip of her piping hot tea. "It just doesn't seem like you to go around adopting and helping children." Len kept silent. He didn't know the answer himself, but something about the children seemed to draw him to them. He leaned back into the sofa, only to jump up as a cry of pain escaped from his mouth.

"Yeow! What the?" Len stuck his right arm in between the cushions while his left rubbed a very sore butt. He pulled out a pink hair band. "Shouko…" he muttered.

"How long do you intend to keep this away from the press?" Amou asked.

"Until I find their parents."

"You know, Len, even if I don't announce this, someone is bound to find out sooner or later," Amou said concernedly. "You've got 6 more pairs of shoes outside and children make a lot of noise. Your neighbours are going to wonder why your house has become increasingly noisy. Since you're a famous icon in the music industry, this discovery could ruin your career, are you sure?"

Len didn't need someone to tell him what to do. What he did was his decision and he'd deal with the consequences himself. The first time he met the children, he felt that they were special, but he just couldn't put it to words. There was something about them and him that were similar.

"I'm very sure."

Amou gave a sigh. She got up and wrapped her scarf around her neck tightly. "I don't know what you're up to, but I'll leave it to you. After all, they're your children."

_My _children. As he got up to see Amou to the door, she gave him a pat on the shoulder and flashed him an encouraging smile.

When the door was finally closed, he turned around to head to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Only to find the children lined up in one row. They were ridiculously dressed. Ryoutaro, Azuma and Kazuki had a tie unsuccessfully wrapped around their necks and Keichi's bowtie was crooked. The two girls were draped in bath towels. Ryoutaro had a vase of flowers in his hands.

"Dear Len-nii," he said in a serious tone.

"What's with this set-up?" Len asked, having a very bad feeling about this.

"We understand that you've reached that age," Ryoutaro continued.

"… Huh?"

As he handed Len the vase of flowers, he said, "Go get her."

"HARH?!"

"And if you ever need a marriage ceremony, we have the whole crew here," Azuma added.

There was a moment of pause. Then Len walked over to the table and carefully replaced the vase. As soon as the fragile vase was safely put away, he charged towards the children.

"Who's getting married?! HUH!"

The children started screaming as they stumbled up the stairs, laughing and shrieking while constantly tripping over their oversized clothes. They crashed into their rooms and slammed their doors shut.

Len was still standing at the bottom of the stairs. He barely even reached them and they were already gone. Sighing, he collapsed onto the sofa. Such troublesome children, he thought. Then he thought about how ridiculous they looked with those serious expressions and dress-up, and he started to chuckle to himself. Soon, he broke into a hearty laughter.

At the corner of the stairs, the children were huddled together.

"Ne, Kazu-nii, why is Len-nii laughing?" Kahoko asked.

"He seems to have gone mad," Keiichi said.

"I wonder what drove him mad," Azuma added.

"Must be the doings of LOVE," Ryoutaro sighed.

"Love can make someone mad?" Shouko asked in surprise.

"Must be it!" Kazuki said. "Afterall, there is a saying that goes like this." He cleared his throat. Then in an attempted low and husky voice, he said, "_He's madly in Love_."

* * *

It was 7 days to Christmas, and the Tsukimori family was busy decorating the house. The tree had just arrived and the children were exceptionally excited that day. They had never decorated a tree before and this was a new experience for them. Megumi was busy that day, meeting up with friends for Christmas shopping. So Len and the children were all alone today.

"What's this?" Azuma took out ring-shaped thing covered with leaves. A bell was tied in the middle with ribbon.

"That's a holly wreath, you can hang it on doors," Len said.

"Oho! Candy!" Kazuki exclaimed, gripping onto a candy cane ornament.

"That's not edible! Put it down!"

"Hey, there's a mini violin," Kahoko said as she pulled out a violin ornament from the box. "Len-nii, can you teach me to play the violin?"

"We wanna learn too!" the children chimed in.

"I want to learn the se-low," Keichi said.

"Se-low? You mean the cello?"

Keichi nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Oh then there's the trumpet and bassoon and…"

"Where did you children learn these names from?"

"From the picture books in the cupboard," Keichi said as he pointed to the cabinet.

"Are you children really so interested in learning an instrument?" Len asked.

They replied by bobbing their heads up and down. Len had an idea.

"Well then, if you can prove to me by not causing trouble for the next few days until Christmas, I'll buy you the instrument you want." This was an excellent way to make the children keep quiet around the house so that he can practice his violin in peace for the performance due in February.

"Really? Yay! Len-nii! I want a trumpet ok!" Kazuki said,

"I want the se-low!"

"I want…"

"Ok ok, you write it down on a piece of paper and stick it on the fridge. Then I'll buy it if I feel that you've behaved well," Len said. Inside he was brimming with happiness. Finally, there will finally be some peace around this house.

The children cheered. For the rest of the afternoon, they acted really well-behaved and polite. They asked Len for permission before doing anything. Even Kazuki and Kahoko were surprisingly obedient this afternoon. I wonder how long can this last, Len thought.

Finally, the house was decorated and the Christmas tree stood grandly in the middle of the hallway. Len lifted Shouko to add the finishing touch of the tree, the golden star. The children gathered excitedly around the tree while Len switched off the light. Then at the count of 3, he plugged in the plug and the tree was set ablaze by the colourful lights then hung round it. The golden star shone brilliantly.

The children gaped in awe at the beautiful sight. Len stood proudly behind them, this was the first time he actually had fun decorating the Christmas tree, and it was all thanks to these children.

Just then the bell rang and a voice called, "Carol singing." Len opened the gate, allowing the singing group to enter. "What song would you like us to sing?" The leader asked. "White Christmas," Shouko said shyly. The leader smiled and turned to his members, giving them a tempo before they began their melodious singing.

_I'm dreaming of a white Christmas  
Just like the ones I used to know  
Where the treetops glisten,  
and children listen  
To hear sleigh bells in the snow_

The children listened quietly, absorbing every note of the soothing melody.

_I'm dreaming of a white Christmas  
With every Christmas card I write  
May your days be merry and bright  
And may all your Christmases be white_

Len looked and the children and he felt a warm and fuzzy feeling within. A flame blazed in his heart whenever he looked at them and now he understood what it was.

_I'm dreaming of a white Christmas  
With every Christmas card I write  
May your days be merry and bright  
And may all your Christmases be white_

The children had given him Love.

_May all your Christmases be White_

* * *

Len had been thinking hard the whole week. It was 3 days to Christmas, and just a couple of days more to New Year. This means that these children had to attend school soon. But that was the problem, what school should he enroll them in? He was scouting around the internet for schools and he had to decide fast for schools were starting to close their enrolment. It would be best to find a school nearby, and not one that was too expensive. Ryoutaro would be attending Junior High. Shouko would probably still be in Kindergarten. And it would be best if the rest could attend the same elementary school.

Finally, after a few hours of intense searching, he had found 3 compatible schools. If these schools accepted his offer, then he could head down to collect the uniform in 5 days. School huh, he thought. That was a long time ago. He thought about the time in Seiso Academy when he won the concours. He wondered if any of the children would have a chance to participate in it next time.

After settling the schools, he went down to make himself some coffee. The children could really be so well-behaved when they wanted something. Ever since the deal Len had made to them several days ago, the children were extremely quiet and considerate. They even helped to wash the dishes and hang the clothes! Len was very pleased.

He glanced at the piece of paper stuck to the fridge by a magnet. The children had written down their Christmas wishes on it, hoping that they will get it on Christmas day.

Kazuki – trumpet

Keichi – cello

Azuma – flute

Ryoutaro – a grand piano

Shouko – clarinet

Kahoko – violin

Only Kahoko wanted an instrument similar to him and Len felt a sense of pride towards her choice. These instruments were definitely going to cost him a bomb. But after seeing how the children were specially attentive and alert towards music, he felt that they would really treasure their instruments. Majority of the children's instruments were pretty easy to wrap in a box, but Ryoutaro's wish was a real headache. How on earth was he going to hide a grand piano in the house?

* * *

Finally, 25th December arrived. The children got up unusually early that morning and bounced down to the tree to see if their presents had arrived. Kazuki and Kahoko squealed in delight when they opened the presents addressed to them and found the instrument they wanted wrapped inside. Keichi was surprised that his cello was smaller than the ones in the picture books, but he loved the sound it made. Azuma carried his flute delicately, admiring the sheen of silver. All the instruments were miniature size, specially made to fit children. And Shouko's clarinet was the smallest of them all.

Ryoutaro didn't manage to find his piano inside a box, instead, he found scores in them.

"Ryoutaro, your present is outside," Len said.

Ryoutaro quickly opened the door, the other children hurried behind him, clutching onto their new instruments. Outside, a delivery truck was parked along the curb. The delivery man waved to him. Then he and his crew carefully wheeled the piano down the vehicle and into the gates. It was a magnificent piano. The black surface was smooth and reflected the morning rays of the early sun.

"Len-nii, it's beautiful," Ryoutaro said.

Len smiled.

"Thank you so much!" Ryoutaro hugged Len tightly, burrowing his face into Len's shirt.

The delivery people moved the piano into the house and up the stairs. The piano glided effortlessly into Ryoutaro's room. "It's huge…" Keichi gaped. When the delivery men had finished their work, they tipped their hats and wished the children a merry Christmas before driving off.

Len smiled as he looked at the happy expressions of the children. He enjoyed seeing them smile and promised himself that he would do whatever it takes to make them happy, so that he could see their smiles every day.

Just then, the telephone rang. Len picked it up, never taking his eyes off them.

"Hello?"

On the other end, a low voice replied. "Is this the Tsukimori household?" The caller slurred his words and spoke in an angry and breathless tone. He sounded like a heavy smoker.

"Yes may I help you?"

The guy scoffed. "You little bastard, you think you can get away with adopting the children? You're gonna regret it. Just you wait."

The caller slammer the phone and an unearthly beep took over.

* * *

I know I promised a threat and im so sorry for introducing it only at the end. Argh. D: This chapter feels abit rushed though… I may take some time to update Chapter 4 cause of busy schedule and all. So please be patient (: Once again, thanks for the reviews!


	4. I'll Protect You

HEY ALL! Finally, after such a long hiatus of 6++ months, you'd probably want to throw rotten eggs at me. Haha. But my exams are finally over! YEAH!

My friend read chap 3 and she said this to me, "Why on earth are you writing about xmas in the middle of June?"

… Heh. I realized that too… I must be craving for xmas much too soon. Haha. Oh, btw, the children's ages have changed. Since they're now into a new year, they are all one year older :D yeap. Just in case I forgot to mention earlier. Haha.

Thanks for the reviews! All the questions that u've asked will be answered in the next 3 chapters or so (:

Pongcan: all the instruments burned a hole in his pocket. But hey, HE'S RICH! XD

Kurankira: LOL! Haha! I think if I had him for a violin teacher I would practice everyday too.

Veronique Ruthven: yes I want to get to that part too D: I shall reveal it as soon as possible!

Faelyrus : Haha. Thanks (: I just love white Christmases

I realized how draggy my story has been. Not to mention the poor sense of humor D: omg… so sorry. I shall try to make up for it…

CHAP 4! LET'S GO!

* * *

Chapter 4 : I'll Protect You

"Just you wait!"

Len woke up abruptly, panting and sweating. Ever since that phone call, Len had been unable to sleep and often woke up in the middle of the night. It was only five in the early winter morning, but the late morning rays were already seeping through the gaps in the curtains. Len sighed heavily. Stifling a yawn, he made his way to the bathroom. He had a big day ahead of him. After all, it was the children's first day at school.

By 6.30am, Len had already drunk 5 cups of coffee and exhausted all the contents in the newspapers. Including the advertisements he detested so much. He had to admit, he was excited for the children. But at the same time anxious and worried. He had kept the children indoors most of the time for the past few days, so nothing happened. But today, all of them would be outdoors, and during that time, anything could happen. If it did, could he protect them from harm?

The children pattered down the stairs noisily. Kazuki, Keichi and Azuma were all dressed in the same navy blue school uniform with a small tie clipped on in front. Kahoko also wore the same uniform, but instead of shorts, she has a skirt and her tie is replaced by a ribbon. Shouko wore a light green overall with the school name sewed on the front. Ryoutaro wore a white collared shirt inside and a black outer coat with black pants. His coat had silver buttons all the way down. He was the only one who will be attending Harushi Junior High, Shouko would be attending the morning session at Kodomo Kindergarten and the other four were all studying at Jushou Elementary School.

The children excitedly grabbed their bags and all squeezed into Len's Honda. Chattering noisily throughout the journey, Len had difficulty concentrating on the road. He clicked the music player and Beethoven's Pathetique started playing. Miraculously, the children quieten down and listen.

After dropping them off, Len returned home.

Peace and Quiet.

That was the first thing that came to Len's mind when he stepped home. How he missed the serenity. Sending the children off to school was a good thing. He placed his keys down and headed to his room. Pick up Shouko at 12, stop by Jushou at 1.30, Ryoutaro will take the public transport back, Len went through the afternoon routine in his head. Picking up his bow, he set to put rosin on it. The concert was just two weeks away, it was time for practice.

* * *

At 11.45, Len was already waiting by the gates of Kodomo Kindergarten. There were many parents around as well, all waiting enthusiastically for their children to emerge from the classrooms. Just then, a cheery father approached him.

"You alone?"

"Yeah..."

"My son is in 1-E, his name is Sasaki, what's yours?" the young father asked.

"Shouko, 1-C" Len replied coldly.

"Your wife busy? My Amanda is caught up in her meeting again. Man…"  
"Something like that…" Len was starting to get irritated now.

Finally the school bell rang. Len could see a brown-haired boy dash from the school gates towards the young father.

"Papa!" Sasaki jumped into the young man's arms.

"How was school little man?"

"Awesome! I did colouring and played ball! And I made someone cry too…" the little boy confessed.

"Did you apologise?" He asked sternly.

"Yup! Just like how Mama taught me to," the boy gleamed.

Len noticed a fat boy running beside Shouko. He hit Shouko by accident and continued running. Len glared at him as he hugged his pleasantly plump mother and placed his lumpy hands around his father's pot belly. Shouko approached Len, smiling slightly.

"You had fun?" Len asked.

Shouko nodded shyly.

"Come on, let's go," Len patted her head.

"She your only one?" the young man called out.

Len paused, helped Shouko into the backseat before turning around and replied

"No, I have six."

The car door slammed and father and son watched in shock as Len drove away.

At the gates of Jushou Elementary, the bell rang noisily. Len had parked his car opposite the road and looked out anxiously for the four children. Finally he saw them emerge from behind the gates. Kahoko waved enthusiastically at Len from across the road and Len could not help but smile and wave back. As Azuma herded the children to the zebra crossing, a black car stopped abruptly before them. The car doors swung open and three men in shades stepped out. They grabbed the children and shoved them into the car.

"LEN-NII!" Kazuki screamed.

"KAZUKI!" Len shouted as he dashed across the road. An on-coming car honked and Len fell backwards. By the time he stood up, the black car was speeding away.

Dammit! Len got into his car and started his engine. Then, with Shouko trembling with fear in the back seat, he sped after the black car.

It was a wild chaste, the black car swerved and snaked through the traffic. Len honked madly at every car in front of him. A couple of drivers gave him the finger but Len couldn't care less. He was only concerned about the children. Who were those men? What did they want the children for? The questions raced pass him. Could it be… that phone call! It must be! That threat! It had come true! Len threw his phone to the back, ordering Shouko to call for the police.

"Len-nii! What's happening?" Shouko wailed.

"Shouko, I know this is hard but please…"

Then Len saw his chance. There were no cars in front of the black car. He quickly sped up in front before abruptly cutting into the black car's lane perpendicularly. He slammed on the brakes and braced for the impact. He could hear Shouko scream when both vehicles collided. Luckily, the black car hit the front so Shouko was safe.

Kicking the car door open, he charged towards the black car's door and yanked it open. The children immediately ran to his side. The driver was unconscious in the front and the guy next to him slumped forth in a pool of blood. One man staggered out, clutching the door for support.

"You bastard!"

Len recognized that voice.

The burly man grabbed him by the shirt and punched him hard in the stomach. Sputtering, Len resisted the pain and struggled to stand. The burly man then grabbed the nearest kid, Kahoko, and unsheathed a knife from his side.

"You're gonna pay for this! Asshole!"

Kahoko screamed and wriggled in his grip. The knife came closer to her throat and her cries became shriller.

"Kahoko!" Len staggered towards her.

"Let her go you big meanie!" Kazuki stomped on his foot. The man tried to cut Kazuki by flinging his knife at him. It missed, and as soon as the knife was out of his hand, Kahoko bit him hard and the man screamed in pain, releasing her. Len immediately punched him in his face and he collapsed to the ground.

"You stay away from my children!"

The man lay on the roadside, knocked-out.

The blue-haired man, weary and bruised, huddled his children close to him. The children cried, tears of fear and relief stained his shirt but he didn't care. It was over now. As they trembled in his embrace, a siren wailed in the background.

* * *

At the hospital, Len winced in pain as the nurse bandaged his body. A policeman sat beside him, taking down his witness report. In the next ward, a few nurses tended to the children's injuries.

"Hey! Are you guys ok?" It was Ryoutaro. "I came here as soon as I got the call from the police."

"Ryou-nii!" The children exclaimed. They were glad to see him. Ryoutaro asked about their injuries and Kazuki boasted that they weren't painful at all. Kahoko told Ryoutaro about how Kazuki saved her from the bad guy and the children laughed when Keiichi said he was amazed at Kazuki's bravery.

"That's all. Thanks for your cooperation," the policeman said as he exited the ward. Len put on his shirt and examined the bandage on his right wrist. Crap, this is definitely going to affect my bowing… As he walked towards the counter, a nurse approached him.

"Are those children yours?"  
"Yes, how are they? Any serious injuries?"

"No, they're fine. They're a strong bunch. And cute too. They sure are lucky, to have you to protect them," she smiled and walked away.

Len entered the ward, only to find them laughing and chattering away, as if they've forgotten what just happened.

"Len-nii!"

"Our hero!"

"Nurse-san! He punched the bad guy!"

"Our Len-nii is so strong!"

"Brave and Strong!"

"Strong and Brave!"

Len was dumbfounded. He didn't know how to react to the children's praises. It was the first time this had happened to him. He just stood there, smiling and grinning as the children chanted his name.

* * *

By evening, the children had all taken their shower and were busy creating noise pollution with their instruments. Reporters flooded outside the gates and Len ignored them.

"Tsukimori-san! Could you please tell us why you are staying with six children?"

"Mr Tsukimori, are you a pedophile?"

"Who are the children's mother?"

"Are you secretly seeing someone?"

Len groaned. Stupid questions, he thought. Just then, something crashed into the kitchen.

"How many times did I tell you to leave the food in the kitchen alone!" Len stomped in, not to find the usual trouble-makers, but to find Amou on the floor.

"Amou-san?"

"Yo!" she grinned.

"What are you doing here?"

"To write your story, silly."

"What? Go back, I'm tired."

"Don't give me that face, I had to creep in from the back door you know. Besides, would you rather have me write your story or the pack outside?"

Len groaned even more. He reluctantly led Amou into the living room where the children were busy experimenting the different sounds with their instruments.

By the time they were done, it was night. The pack outside had set up tents and the children were preparing to go to sleep.

"Thanks for your help." Amou waved goodbye and snuck out of the backdoor again.

By now, Len was really really tired. He switched off the lights downstairs on his way up, forcing himself to lift his fatigue legs up each step. He passed by Shouko's room on the way to the toilet and saw her holding her clarinet wrongly.

"No, you hold it like that," He positioned her hands on the clarinet. "See, cover the hole behind and place your fingers like that. That's right."

"Oh, thanks," Shouko smiled.

Len sighed and sat on her bed.

"Are you alright? Sorry for making you so scared today."

"It's alright. Everything's ok now."

"Ok, go to bed early. I'll teach you more about the clarinet tomorrow morning," Len said. As he swept her hair behind her ears, he saw a red bruise on her cheek.

"Shouko! That bruise, when did you get hurt?"

Shouko touched the red spot gently.

"Oh, that, it's okay now."

"It's not okay! Did someone bully you in school?" Then he remembered that fat boy who hit into SHouko earlier today. "Was it that fat bully?"

"No! I just got hit by a ball. And he apologized to me already," Shouko smiled.

"That's nice, who is he?"

"S..Sasaki," Shouko whispered,

"Sasaki from 1-E?"

"You know him?"

"Did he make you cry?" Len remembered his son telling him how he made someone cry on his first day in school.

"Yea… But he made me feel better already."

"How? By apologizing? That's not enough."

"No, he…"

"He what?"

Shouko hestitated, then she looked down and twiddled her thumbs.

"He kissed me," she confessed, blushing.

"HE KISSED YOU?"

From their rooms, Len's scream resonated. The children popped their heads out to see the commotion. They exchanged eager glances before running into Shouko's room. Len was gaping in disbelief. Shouko, at age 5, had lost her first kiss…

"Who's the boyfriend?" Kahoko poked.

"Nobody! Mind your own business!" Len snapped.

"Len-nii, why are you so angry, it's just a kiss…" Shouko tugged his sleeve.

"It's because it's a kiss. That's why I'm so angry!"

"Why? Havn't you been kissed before?"

"Erm, well…" Len looked at Shouko, not knowing what to say. Then he looked at the children and an awkward silence took over.

"Ohmigawd he hasn't…" Kazuki whispered.

"Shuddap! That's not the main point here!"

"21 years… amazing…" Azuma shook his head.

"What about that pretty lady with the wavy hair?" Kahoko asked.

"Amou-san? Are you outta your mind?"

Things took quite some time to settle, and when they finally did, Len was dead tired. He crawled into his bed, glad to finally be able to take a break. But as soon as he pulled the covers over him, Ryoutaro knocked on his door.

"Umm, Len-nii, I'm sorry, but I have a favour to ask of you,"

"What?" he glared.

"Could you teach me to read the scores?"

"Tomorrow! Now let me sleep!"

Finally, at half past midnight, the Tsukimori household fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, the newspapers had written a story about Len. In the first paragraph, it read: Tsukimori Len, 21, a violin prodigy adopted six children last December in the hopes of helping them find their parents. Later paragraphs revealed the children's particulars with a little message that asked the rightful parents to contact the police immediately. The fact about the illegal orphanage was also released and it ended with the police determined to help find the lost children's parents. Finally, all was revealed. No more secrets.

They were all busy eating breakfast when Megumi the housekeeper knocked on the door.

"Yay! Yummy lunch today again!" Kazuki chimed. Megumi chuckled and settled to prepare their lunch.

"Any preferences?" She asked.

"Salmon!"

"Pizza!"

"Meat!"

"Chocolate cake!"

"Who eats cake for lunch?"

"I do!"

"How about honey?"

"EHH?"

As the children debated over the lunch menu, the doorbell rang again. Len got up and peered into the screen. A middle aged woman was standing outside the gates. She had curly blonde hair and wore a tight-fitting dress. Her eyes looked fatigued and her manicured fingers clutched her purse tightly.

"Hello, is this the Tsukimori household?" she asked.

"Yes, state your business," Len replied.

"I'm Mrs Hihara. I'm here for my son."

* * *

The school names were all made up on the spot. I think they sound cool. Hahaha. Omg lol. At first I wanted to name Jushou as Jushiu. But after a while I realized it sounded terrible. Lol. Len has 3 cars! I wonder how many more he has…

By the way… I've been wondering… Japan's school timetable is different from Singapore's right? o.O do they start in Jan? oh man… DDD:

I kinda rushed the last part abit. So please bear if there are any spelling mistakes. By the way. Since I was on such a long hiatus, I shall include a bonus ((:

* * *

EXTRA: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A TSUKIMORI (1)

It has been bothering Len for a very long time. Ever since the day the children moved in. Len couldn't help but wonder. Why oh why does Azuma refuse to cut his hair.

One morning, Len was reading the newspapers and Azuma was cleaning his flute. After cleaning it thoroughly, Azuma bent down to admire the silver sheen of his flute. As he bent down, his hair fell to the sides of his face softly. Azuma then daintily swept it behind his ears again, and tilted his head to one side.

"Azuma,"

"Yes, Len-nii?"

"Would you like to go for a haircut?"

Azuma looked at him, surprised. Then he smiled and asked, "Is it bothering you?"

Len lifted his newspaper higher, removing Azuma from his view. For a minute there, Azuma stole his heartbeat with his charming smile. I should do something about it, soon, Len thought, and resumed to reading his newspapers.

* * *

Omg it was quite short. And pointless. Haha. But really, why does Azuma have long hair? T_T


	5. Can't Bear To Part

Ahhh~ your reviews give me such strength… haha :D

I finally completed chap 5! Sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long :D

ENJOY!

* * *

Chapter 5 : Can't Bear To Part

"I'm Mrs. Hihara, I'm here for my son."

Len wasn't quite sure how to react at first. Then as reality smacked some sense back into him, he opened the gate and showed the blonde woman into the house. Curious, the children observed the two adults from the kitchen.

"Shall I get you some coffee? A toast, maybe?" Len asked as he called for Megumi.

The blonde woman smiled gratefully, then her eyes caught the young green-haired boy peeping from behind the vase.

"Kazuki?"

She stood up and approached him slowly. Kazuki backed away at first, then he saw the familiarity in her eyes. The same orange vibrant eyes were reflected in his own. Softly, he uttered the word the blonde woman had not heard for many years.

"Mummy?"

She fell to her knees and placed her hands on his cheeks, tears streaming out from her eyes. Sketching his every feature with her finger, the tears rolled out one after another. Within moments, both son and mother were hugging each other.

Mrs. Hihara, who later introduced her name to be Hoshino, sat down with Kazuki by her side. Her eyes never stopped looking affectionately at the boy on her left. "I'm so glad I found him. I never dreamt that the day would come where I would find my child again. I don't know what to say." Her eyes welled with happy tears.

"Ever since the chaotic incident with my husband some years back," she breathed, stopping in mid-speech. She buried her face in her hands again and gave a deep sigh. Then she continued, "Back in my prime, I had family issues with my parents and ran away from home."

Everyone eyed her with shock.

"I then lived with my girlfriend in her apartment and worked part-time at the bar some blocks away. Everything was going great for me. I had money, food, a shelter over my head and a simple life." she smiled. "Until the day I met this man who was charming and wild at the same time. His name was Hihara Obata. It was love at first sight. Everything was going fine for the both of us, until my girlfriend got herself involved with some nasty people and they burnt down our apartment. All our possessions were gone in that fire." She paused as she felt a lump in her throat. "When Obata found out about it," she continued, "he let me stay in his apartment and provided meals for me. Unfortunately, a few months later, Obata was accused of a crime he never committed and I was suspected to be his accomplice so we fled the state together. Obata then promised to take care of me since he caused me so much trouble. Before I knew it, we had a child, Kazuki. The joy of my life because the man I loved was his father. But a few months later, I returned home to find both Obata and Kazuki missing. Only a note written by Obata lay on the table. It turned out Obata was heavily indebt and he had sold our son away for a hefty sum before he disappeared. I never heard from any of them ever since. Until now."

The woman finished her story, her face tear-stained again. Kazuki tugged at his mother's shirt and the woman gazed at him, before breaking into a smile.

Len felt happy for them, but at the same time something tugged at his heart. I should be overjoyed, I had managed to keep my promise to the children and find their parents. Now Kazuki has found his mother and he can lead a normal life with a proper family. So why do I feel like this? Why do I feel like I can't bear to part with him? Len couldn't figure out what was holding him back, in his heart, he silently wished the woman had never knocked on the door. Len shook the feeling away. What am I thinking? He got up and helped Kazuki pack his belongings.

Kazuki hummed a happy tune while he cleared all his toys from the shelf into his bag. He took a couple of story books with him and took his favourite cup from the kitchen. Lastly, he gently placed his trumpet back into the case and strapped it behind his back.

With a couple of paperwork, and a few hours of packing, Kazuki was waiting at the door for his mother, with his luggage by his side and his scarf wrapped tightly round his neck.

"Are you really going to leave us?" Kahoko asked sadly.

"Not really, I'll still be attending the same school as you," Kazuki smiled.

"Not quite, you see, we don't live in Tokyo," his mother said.

"Then what school will I be in? Will I be able to visit Len-nii soon?"

"Sure, why not. We'll come by every Sunday, how does that sound?"

Kazuki just beamed and hugged his mother. The children cried out farewell as they watched Kazuki leave with his mother. When mother and son were at the gate, Kahoko suddenly broke away and ran towards Kazuki in the chilly winter bare-footed. She gave him one last hug and a crystal tear fell to the ground. It froze instantly.

After a couple of soapy goodbyes, Kazuki and his mother were on their way. They walked for a long distance, his mother clogging noisily on her high heels in front and Kazuki struggling to keep up behind.

"Mummy, could you slow down?"

"Quiet now, and hurry up."

Kauzki thought they would be headed for the train station because he remembered her saying that they didn't live in Tokyo. However, his mother took a sharp left turn at the end and headed towards a shady neighborhood.

They reached a dilapidated apartment and his mother rapped on the door. There was a thud and a bottle crashed. The door opened slowly and a scruffy man greeted them.

"You smell like vomit," the blonde woman said angrily.

"Shuddap you bitch," he slurred.

Kazuki's mother shoved her son in roughly and slammed the door shut.

"Who's the kid?"

"My son."

"Pfft… that useless Obata's son? I told you got rid of him and Obata for good!"

"That's what I thought, but my son has returned thanks to some kind Samaritan, and this time, we may be able to fetch an even higher price. We could sell his organs or send him up for auction, there seems to be a rise of old pedophiles these days."

"Auction? My organs? Mummy! What are you talking about?" Kazuki screamed. He was afraid now, very afraid.

"Shut that kid up, I gotta drop by Luce's place." She grabbed her bag and left in a jiffy.

"Don't forget these," Obata called after her as he threw her a couple of condoms and Kiyo swiftly caught them in mid-air. Obata gave a sneer as he watched the woman walk out of the apartment.

Now Kazuki and the scruffy old man were left alone. Trembling, Kazuki scanned for an escape but every window was nailed shut. The air had a horrible stench and some white stuff lay on the table.

"Come 'ere…" the dirty man beckoned with his yellow finger.

"NO! Stay away from me!" Kazuki made a dash for the door but the knob was too high. Pounding frantically at the door, he called for Len's name over and over again.

"Shuddap!" He hit Kazuki hard on the head and Kazuki collapsed sideways. He was wailing in fear and terrified at what the man would do to him.

"Yer still don know what that woman did, do yer?"

He cried.

"4 years ago, she ran away with that Obata bastard and got pregnant. Then after you were born, she started taking drugs and got heavily indebted."

More crying.

"After she sold you away, Obata found out and threatened to kill her. But that sly woman got rid of him first. Now her useless son is back, and this time, you're worth more than you did 4 years back," he cackled.

Kazuki was petrified. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare, and return to where they were. To where he could tease Kahoko like he always did, to annoy Ryoutaro, to pull pranks on Azuma and Keiichi and to hide Shouko's things around the house. Last but not least, to be in Len's embrace and feel the warmth and security. He whispered Len's name under his breath, his eyes shut tight and his hands cluthing his throbbing head. Then a sharp pain hit the back of his head and everything went black.

* * *

That stupid man and his son are so dead, Len thought to himself as he pulled up the driveway of Kodomo Kindergarten. It was Monday, one day after Kazuki left the Tsukimori household. Len had no difficulty finding the annoying father among the usual crowd of parents. This time, a pretty Caucasian woman was by his side.

The couple was chatting happily in Japanese when Len approached them.

"Hey!"

"Oh, hi there! Amanda, this is the father I met the other day, the one I told you about, remember? The one with six kids," the young father told his wife.

"I'm not here to talk about how many kids I have, do you have any idea what your son did to my Shouko?" Len demanded.

"Umm, not that I know of…" the father trailed.

"He hit her with a ball, made her cry, then… then…" Len took a deep breath. "Then he kissed her as an apology!" Len whispered harshly. "What on earth are you teaching your kids?"

Both parents were stunned for a moment there. Then the father started to laugh.

"You think it's funny?" Len fumed.

But the young father just continued to laugh hysterically.

"I'm sorry, Sakugi, he's like that," Amanda explained.

"You see, in America, my parents taught me that kissing someone will always be able to serve as an apology. So I taught Sasaki that."

"And now our son's got a girlfriend!" the young father cackled again.

Amanda ignored her looney husband and continued, "But it seems that I didn't know that Japan was so strict on this issue."

Len stared at them in disbelief. Sakugi apologized profusely to him but Len was in no mood to forgive. He gave them an icy glare when the bell rang, signifying the end of school. Shouko and Sasaki emerged hand in hand and Len scowled the entire time, his face becoming thunderously black.

When Shouko saw Len looking at her, she quickly broke away from Sakugi's hand which made Len flinch. Shouko approached him slowly, half expecting him to holler at her. But Len just simply opened the door and helped Shouko into the backseat. Don't scream at her, pretend you didn't see anything, give a smile. That's right, smile and pretend nothing happened when something actually did, Len clenched his teeth and muttered under his breath.

Before Len left with Shouko, Sakugi pulled the violinist to one side and whispered,

"Hey, how did you manage to get your wife to agree to have 6 kids with you?"

"…" Just when Len had managed to calm down, he had to say this kind of thing.

"My Amanda won't even allow 2!"

"…" Keep calm, Len, you can do this.

"What did you do? Bribe her with flowers?"

"… No." What the shit?

"Jewellery?"

"What's wrong with you?" I want to punch him.

Sakugi ignored and continued to ponder.

"Or could it be, you can't keep her off you?"

Len stared at him with eyes wide with disgust.

"Oh God, get away from me."

"C'mon, let me in on the secret."

"Mind your own business."

Len glared at Sakugi coldly. Not only is he stupid, but perverted as well. Shouko needs to be careful with who she befriends…

* * *

It had been a week since Kazuki left and the Tsukimori household was so quiet. Kahoko now spent her time prancing around Kazuki's empty room and Ryoutaro found the unusual peace rather difficult to accept. It was a Sunday morning, winter was dissolving into the ground and pastures of green started sprouting against the sheet of white. The children were idling around the house and Len was in his room when the gate opened. The only ones who had the key to the gate were Len and Megumi, but today was Megumi's off-day and Len was busy upstairs, so who could the person at the front gate be?

From the distance, the children could see a vague figure of a woman in a ceruleanised dress. As she came closer to the door, with her back straight and head held high, the children were beginning to get very curious about her identity. Her shawl draped over her shoulders elegantly and her pale blue hair had a slight shade of green. The woman walked to the front door and knocked.

"She's pretty," Kahoko whispered to Azuma.

"Len!" she called.

"She calls Len-nii by his first name? Who is she?" Shouko asked.

Len came thumping down the stairs, opened the door and stared quite shockingly at the woman in the doorway.

"Mother?" Len said surprised.

"Mother? That's Len's mama?" Azuma was shocked.

Len asked, "umm, what brings you here, Mother?"

"I should be asking you what on earth you're up to!" She shoved a newspaper into her son's face. "I read the papers last week and immediately rushed down here from Germany. You… Them…" She sighed. "I was just surprised, why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry, I thought I could solve this quietly, until that kidnapper came and made a big scene,"

The elder lady just sighed and sat down.

"My Len, since when were you so…" She was at a lost of words.

"…different?" Len finished off the sentence.

Then the lady saw the instruments lying on the floor.

"You bought instruments for them?"

"Yea, for Christmas."

"You really have changed," she smiled, eyeing the instruments. "Gosh, these are high-end instruments, how much did it cost?"

Len averted his gaze away.

"Did you engage teachers for them?" she continued.

"No, they just cause noise pollution everyday."

"I know a few people… I could recommend them to you if you want."

Kahoko approached the graceful lady cautiously.

"Len's mama-san, you learn music too?" she queried.

"Sure, I play the piano," she replied. "What about you?"

Kahoko broke into a beam, "I play the violin just like Len-nii!"

"Grandma, I know a tune on the violin! Shall I play it for you?" Kahoko offered. Without even waiting for the woman to reply, she scurried off to her room and returned with a violin.

"I also want to perform something," Keichi insisted and went to get his cello. As he was lugging it down the stairs, the children picked up their instruments from the floor and argued about who should get to go first.

What enthusiastic children, Hamai thought. She spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the children perform and teaching them about music while Len observed from a corner. Len listened to his mother explain to Kahoko the different ways of bowing and remembered how his father used to tell him the same things. He felt like he was watching his childhood being replayed right before his eyes.

Hamai laughed when Keichi performed a rather failed piece for her. All the other children booed and chased him off the 'stage'. Len had never seen his mother had so much fun before. He got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen. Just as he was preparing for dinner, his mother came in.

"Were there really from an orphanage?" she asked.

"Yea."

"They're talented."

"I think so too, especially Ryoutaro, he's got a gift for music," Len replied without turning to look at her.

"Say, would you mind if I personally taught Ryoutaro?"

"Are you serious?" Len stared at his mother.

"Of course. A talent like his doesn't come by often and I want to help bring out the fullest potential in him." Harima explained. "By the way, I thought here were six kids. Where's the sixth one?"

"His mother came for him last week," Len replied.

Hamai observed her son for a moment. Then she saw the slight pain of a parent parting with his child in Len's cold emotionless eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that wherever he is, he's leading a happy life."

* * *

It was like any other day, a boring school day in class. Nothing to look forward to, especially ever since Kazuki left. It has been two weeks since his departure already, but Kazuki never came back once. Azuma stared at the blackboard blankly. Life was just so hard to adjust without their usual bundle of mischief around. Azuma sighed deeply, how he missed Kazuki, if he could just come back to visit once…

"AZU-NII!"

The entire class turned to the door. Leaning on the door frame, everyone could clearly see the bruises and open wounds on Kazuki's limbs. He was in tears, and he dragged his left leg into the classroom before collapsing.

"Kazuki!" Azuma exclaimed. The class was thrown into chaos. The girls screamed at the sight of so much blood and some of the boys even looked away. A few had their hands over their mouths. The teacher lifted the bloodied body and hurried to the nurse's room with Azuma following tightly behind.

Everything was a blur to Azuma, the sudden appearance of Kazuki in the middle of class. The uproar when his classmates saw the blood and wounds.

A single question throbbed in his head.

What happened to Kazuki?

* * *

This is extremely long. And there was so much more I wanted to write. But I had to stop before I hit 10 pages. Hahaha.

For some reason, I feel really bad about giving Kazuki such a nasty mother T_T and.. Sakugi's a perv! Lols. Im starting to like Len more and more. Hahaha. I hope you'll like the new Len too D

Actually I wanted to reveal Kazuki returning to Len in chap 6, but because of sheepfonfon's review. "So mean, separate Kazuki from the rest!" I felt quite bad… heh. So I decided to give assurance to you readers that Kazuki ain't going nowhere. Hahaha.

Stay tuned for chap 6! As a holiday gift, I shall include a bonus! Again! (note, this is a long bonus)

* * *

EXTRA : A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A TSKIMORI (2)

Shouko is tired of being treated like she can't do anything just because she is the youngest. So today, she is going to prove to the rest that she is just as capable. Today, she is going to mop the floor!

She had seen how Megumi did it before, taking a cloth and scrubbing the floor till it shone and sparkled. First she had to fill a bucket with water. Glancing around, she saw a red bucket sitting forlornly in one corner. She filled it with a hose at full blast, until the bucket was really full of water. Then she took a cloth which was really Azuma's handkerchief and dumped it in the bucket. Next was the floor detergent. Scouting around for a decent bottle, she chanced upon one which read, Strawberry Essence. Shouko loves strawberries. So she took it without thinking twice.

Finally she had gathered all the essentials. Unfortunately, the bucket was so heavy she couldn't lift it. So she had to push it all the way into the hallway. The toilet was located on the second floor and Shouko didn't want to risk spilling the water by carrying it downstairs so she decided to mop the second floor. Everyone else was at school and Len-nii had to go buy some stuff. She had no school today because apparently, every other Wednesday is an off-day in Kodomo Kindergarten.

It was time to get to work. Just like how she saw Megumi do, she squirted the bottle of "floor detergent" into the bucket. Strawberry smelling liquid mixed into the water. She then dunked her cloth it, took it out and wrung out the excess water. But she wasn't sure how to twist it properly so she just crushed it into a ball.

Humming to herself, she scrubbed the wooden floor till it shone and sparkled. Then when she was done, she did the whole floor all over again. She delighted in the thought of how pleased they would be, especially Len-nii.

Finally, after the 3rd round, she reluctantly pushed the bucket back into the toilet and dunked the excess water down the bath tub. Without washing the handkerchief, she placed it back. Then she heard the rattle of keys and the front door swung open. They were home.

Chattering and giggling, the children poured into the living room. Then the smell of strawberries hit the roofs of their mouth and they stared at the second floor. Len realized it too, and his brows furrowed into a scowl.

"All right, who brought food out of the kitchen again? I told you, food is strictly prohibited in other parts of the house except the kitchen and dining area!"

"But I didn't bring any strawberries… just honey," Keichi confessed.

"You what…"

The children snickered.

"I'm sorry, what about me?"  
"You brought honey? I'm gonna…"

"I didn't say anything. You were imagining things." Keichi quickly said, and then he darted for the vase again.

"Len-nii! You're back! I've got a surprise for you!" Shouko called from upstairs.

The family headed upstairs and stood before a very happy Shouko.

"Well? What fruity surprise have you got for us?" Len asked.

"Do you notice anything different?"

"Sure." Len said as he wrinkled his nose.

Then Ryoutaro stared at the floor and asked, "Did you clean the floor?"

"Yeap! I wiped it three times!" Shouko beamed. She couldn't wait for the praises to come pouring out now.

"It certainly is clean," Azuma speculated.

"Not to mention the aroma that comes with it," Kazuki snickered.

Shouko couldn't contain her excitement anymore. She tugged at Len's pants to ask, "What do you think?"

"I think you did a great job."

Shouko was grinning like mad.

"However, if I may ask, what floor detergent did you use?"

Shouko quickly ran into the bathroom and came back with a pink bottle in her hand.

"This one!"

Len stared at the bottle hard. Strawberry Essence for Silky Hair. SHE USED SHAMPOO TO MOP THE FLOOR!

Kazuki sniffed the floor, then he sniffed Kahoko's hair, and said,"Kaho-chan, your hair smells like the floor."

At the top of the bottle cap. The words Kahoko were scribbled in black.

The children burst out laughing. Kazuki collapsed to the floor, holding his stomach and wiping away his tears as he rolled about the fragrant floor. Kahoko blushed till she was as pink as the shampoo bottle, and Shouko stood there feeling very confused.

"Did I do something wrong…" she whispered, her hand still holding Len's pants.

"I just wanted to do my bit for the house…" she glanced down.

Chuckling, Len bent down to hug her.

"Thank you."

After that, Len taught Shouko the different types of washing detergent and emphasized that body soap and washing soap must never be mixed up. Len had to re-mop the floor and this time he let Shouko help out, guiding her at every step. Shouko had fun mopping with Len-nii and the rest of the children.

"All done," Len-nii sighed relief, putting away the last bucket. They ended up cleaning the whole house.

"The house smells normal now," Kazuki added.

"Say, since I screwed up mopping the floor, why don't I make it up to you by cooking for you tomorrow?" Shouko asked.

"Cook? You don't even know how to boil water!" Ryoutaro gaped.

"Sure I do!" Shouko protested.

"How?" Kazuki challenged.

"Just put it in the oven!"

Shouko still had a lot to learn.

* * *

THE BONUS IS EXTREMELY LONG. Heh. The last part about boiling water with an oven is actually based on a real life situation that happened with my friend. Hahaha. She's probably reading this now. Woops. Oh Kazuki is included in this bonus cause it took part before his mom came for him. Hahaha.

Hope you enjoyed chapter 5 :D

I did not have time to check for spelling or grammatical mistake since I rushed this. Its 1.30am in the morning now. Hahaha. Pardon the mistakes. Heh. I will work harder for chap 6…

REVIEWW! It will bring me loads of joy. I assure you.


	6. Precious Gift

I AM DONE! Omg. I AM PREPARED TO LET YOU GUYS THROW ALL THE ROTTEN EGGS YOU WANT AT ME.

SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO sorry for being so late T_T

I am currently stuck on this song by this Vietnamese composer. Awesome melodies. Her name is Thao Ngyuen Xanh, ever heard of her? :D I can't find her autobiography on wiki. If any of you know any info on her please tell me. I want her other songs too. Heh.

* * *

Chapter 6 – Precious Gift

The daisies swayed with the breeze while the tall oak tree stood firmly beside them outside the gates of Jushou Elementary School. The sky was a brilliant azure blue with white splotches of cotton clouds. But Len did not have time to enjoy the scenery as he hurried up the stone steps. It was recess time. Screams and shouts at the playground were, however, inaudible to Len. He didn't even hear Kahoko shouting his name from the swing. He briskly walked down the corridor and finally broke into a run. At the end, there was a door with a sign that read "Nurse's Office" and Len pushed it open.

Inside, Kazuki was being tended to by a nurse. His forehead, arms and torso were bandaged. Azuma was helping the nurse paste plasters on Kazuki's cheek. As soon as Len entered the room, Kazuki broke away from the medics and ran straight into Len's embrace.

"Len-nii!"

Len had received the phone call from the school just minutes ago and rushed down immediately to see if Kazuki was ok. But the injuries on Kazuki's meek body made Len's heart wrench. There were bruises on every limb and his ankles were still bleeding. Disheveled hair covered bruises and cuts on his cheeks. Pulling Kazuki closer, he hushed the crying boy. "It's okay, you're safe now. I'm here, so stop crying." Kazuki sniffed and reluctantly pulled his teary face away.

His body was still trembling from fear. As Len carried him back to the chair, Kahoko came running into the ward.

"Len-nii! What are you doing in school?" she asked cheerfully. Then she saw Kazuki and her face lost the sunny smile instantly. Before anybody could say anything, the phone rang and the nurse clicked the loudspeaker.

"Hello, this is Officer Hasumi, is the nurse-in-charge here?" the person on the other end of the line said.

"Yes, speaking," replied the head nurse. Everyone else in the room listened attentively.

"We have managed to bring in Mrs. Kiyo Hihara and Mr. Hiro Moshiro," a loud crash interrupted her.

"You useless man! You can't even keep an eye on a kid?"

It was Mrs. Hihara's voice in the background. But Kazuki could no longer recognize the voice, for it was no longer tender but unkind and furious.

"HE WAS CHAINED TO THE BED! HOW SHOULD I KNOW HE COULD ESCAPE?"

Silence fell in the room. Everyone had heard him loud and clear. All gazes averted away from Kazuki. They couldn't look at him, not after what he had gone through. Len pulled him closer. The head nurse switched off the loud speaker and picked up the phone. After a couple of 'yes' and 'understood', she hung up and turned to Len.

"They need Kazuki to go to the police station and identify the suspects." She paused. "Will you be able to do that?" She asked Len, even though everyone knew that question was directed at Kazuki.

Taking a deep breath, he puffed up his chest and gave a slow nod. I have to be brave, Kazuki thought, otherwise Len-nii will just be more worried. Kahoko stood in the doorway, eyes wide with fear and confusion when Azuma gently placed his hands on her shoulders and ushered her back to class.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeap!" replied Kazuki cheerfully. Len watched the kid do a little skip down the corridor.

"You don't have to push yourself, Kazuki."

"But I'm not!" he replied indignantly.

"Don't lie," Len knelt down and hugged the child. "It's alright if you want to cry."

Kazuki bit his lip and pushed back the tears that were welling in his eyes. I can't let Len-nii see me crying again, he thought as he remembered how painful Len's eyes were when he came into the ward and saw him full of cuts and bandages. Len waited for a little while more, when he was sure Kazuki had dried his tears, he stood up, took the boy by the hand and headed for the car.

* * *

The car ride to the station seemed like an impending doom to Kazuki. He was afraid of what his mother would do to him. He couldn't even face his own mother, knowing that she didn't love him at all. Kahoko and Azuma had returned to classes, but Len knew there was no way they could pay attention, especially after what they saw. Kahoko even broke down when she had learnt what really happened.

Pulling his car over, Len got out of the car slowly. He half expected Kazuki to sit in the car for a long time, but he was even faster than him. Fists clenched, Kazuki went to Len's side and they both walked up the stairs. Len could see him trembling, but Kazuki remained unfazed.

They entered the building and an officer showed them to the interrogation room where they sat behind the piece of mirror glass. A couple of suspects filed into the room behind the glass. All of them were wearing number tags. Kazuki's mother held the number 5 tag. Kazuki hestitated but Len put his hand on Kazuki's shoulder reassuringly.

Kiyo Hihara sat in the other room irritated. I'm going to give that Hiro a piece of my mind later, she thought. She wasn't even worried about going to jail. Afterall, she was confident that Kazuki wouldn't turn in his own mother.

But she was so very wrong.

When she exited the room, the policeman waiting outside immediately placed a hand-cuff on her. She couldn't believe it. She thought the policeman had mixed up the identity. But it was no mistake for Kazuki emerged from the next room with his eyes away from her.

"Kazuki!" she called. I can't go to jail! A voice in her mind screamed.

Len pushed him along.

"KAZUKI!" Screaming, she struggled with the policeman, but that only caused more policemen to come and resist her.

"HOW CAN YOU PUT YOUR OWN MOTHER IN JAIL!" She was on the floor, her hands behind her. Desperate, she wriggled towards her son.

Len whispered to a policeman and the policeman quietly took Kazuki to the car park. Then Len turned around slowly and watched the frantic woman squirm her way towards his feet. Kiyo's eyes were wide with fear and disbelief. She couldn't accept the reality before her eyes, going to jail would ruin her future forever, God knows how many years she'll be sitting in the cell. Len bent down, his gaze meeting the frantic woman's eyes.

"If you can't even love your own son, you're not fit to be a mother."

Tears streamed down Kiyo's face. "I'm sorry! I'M SORRY KAZUKI! Please! Help me, I don't want to go to jail! I can't! I promise I'll be good to him. I pro-"

Len whammed his hand on the floor, his eyes red and furious. If looks could kill, Kiyo would be a bloody corpse by now.

"After all you did to that boy. After how you mistreated him, threaten him, abuse him." His voice became louder. "Chain him to a bed! Starve him for a week! YOU THINK IT CAN ALL BE EASILY FORGIVEN?" The woman looked at him in shock, guilt caught up with her and tears poured out of her eyes, down her cheek and onto the floor.

"I-I'm sorry," she whimpered. Len got up, the police station was dead quiet and all eyes were on them. Without looking back at her, Len angrily shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away. Shameless woman, he thought.

"Please tell Kazuki, I'm sorry…" the woman whispered, but Len was already gone.

In the carpark, the policeman was trying to console Kazuki, telling him he had done the right thing by bringing a bad person to justice. But Kazuki just kept on crying, he couldn't stop, and the policeman knew there wasn't much he could do either.

Because turning one's own mother in is a painful decision for any kid.

* * *

The whole family was in shock when they learnt of Kazuki's unfortunate incident, but on a happier note, they were glad he was back. The house was starting to miss his usual pranks and sudden outbursts of laughter. Kazuki didn't seem to be very much affected either. Maybe it was because he never really did acknowledged that woman to be his mother. Or maybe it was because he had already found a place where he belonged. This family is a precious gift to him. A gift no one could take away, and a gift they all shared.

Kazuki had to wear a cast over his arm for the next few days or so. And the children had immense fun drawing on the white cast. They even painted pictures of dinosaurs and rockets and whatnot.

"You're not gonna leave us anymore, right Kazu-ni?" Kahoko asked while drawing a picture of a prince and a princess kissing on his cast.

"Nope, I'm staying right here. I love this place," he smiled, then he saw what Kahoko was drawing and immediately screamed in horror.

Len was in the kitchen drinking coffee when he overheard their conversation. He smiled a little and flipped the newspaper. I'm really glad Kazuki is back in the family, he thought. But the next moment, he was sighing, because if one parents had already come looking for their child, it wouldn't be long before others came knocking on the day. When that happens, how can he ensure the children's safety? Len made himself a second cup of coffee when an idea struck his mind. He immediately took his coat and car keys and bolted out of the house.

He didn't return until an hour later and the children demanded to know where he had disappeared too. He was carrying a plastic bag full of boxes and the children were just dying to know what was inside. Len lifted them out of reach as he headed for his room, laughing as the children tried all ways and means to get it.

To make up for his disappearance, Len treated them all to pizza hut and ice cream for dinner. When they returned home, the sun had already set. They all gathered round the television and flipped through the channels randomly. They argued over what to watch and Len just sat there, slouched in his seat, fatigued and sleepy.

That night, when everyone had gone to bed, Kazuki lay awake on his bed, thinking about the day's events. There came a soft knock on the door and Len opened it gently, leaking in a stream of yellow light. Kazuki remained lying on his bed as Len sat down at the foot of his bed. Cautiously, Len reached into his side pocket and took out a hand phone. But it wasn't his usual black flip phone. It was a slide phone with a sunny orange cover. He handed it to Kazuki.

"Here, this way, if anything happens, you can call me." Len told him. "My number is on speed dial, you just have to press 1 and the call button then…"Fascinated, Kazuki immediately shot up and started to explore the new gadget.

"Gee, thanks Len-nii! So that was what you went out to buy," Kazuki said.

"Yeah, you're the first to know. So keep it a secret and don't tell the others ok?" Len put a finger to his mouth which made Kazuki giggle. Len watched him toy with it, his right hand supporting himself on the springy mattress and the left ruffling through Kazuki's fluffy green hair.

After the incident with Kiyo, Len truly didn't know what to expect from the other children's parents. Anything could happen. The parents could be heavily indebted, or they may be abusive, or mentally unsound, or are involved in illegal trading, or… the list was just too long. As least this time, if they had the hand phones by their side, he would feel much safer.

The next morning, the children were pleasantly surprised with the hand phones Len handed out to them. Shouko's phone was a simple model with a sweet pink cover. Keichi loved his phone because he claimed that the exterior looked just like honey. Smooth, golden and glossy. Kazuki had already pasted a couple of Transformer stickers on his orange slide phone. Kahoko's phone was the new Ice Cream model. It was a flip phone just like Len's, except hers was white while Len's is black. Len specially chose a phone with a more manly colour for Azuma in the hopes that Azuma will change some of his habits. It was a slide phone, with a bottom base colour of chocolate brown and silver for the screen border. The phone was then topped off with a gold lining along the sides. It was classy, sleek and not in the least girly. Len took pride in his choice. But all the children were envious of Ryoutaro because his phone was a touch screen! In fact, it was the new i-phone 4!

"Unfair…" Kazuki scowled.

"Len-nii's biased…" added Kahoko.

"If you can prove your worth, I'll buy you the new i-pad."

"YOU'RE ON!" the children chimed.

At the same time, someone knocked on the door. It was Hamai Misa. Len's mother came for a visit again and this time she gave her son a list of recommended teachers for the children. Hamai would be taking charge of Ryoutaro and she made Len promise to teach Kahoko so as to save costs. Flute specialist Shino Hetalia, half Japanese, half Italian. 3 times cello concours winner Chen TingYu from China and 30-years of clarinet teaching experience, Adalgisa Reginheraht, German.

"Mother… They're all foreigners."

"I know dear, it's called foreign talent."

Arranging the lessons time was a lot easier than Len expected since all Hamai needed to do was pull a couple of strings. Even the fees were discounted.

"Isn't your concert tonight?" Hamai asked her son.

"Yeah, it is."

"Why aren't you practicing?" Hamai asked with a curious tone.

"I already did, and you can't expect me to practice 24/7 right?" Len gave a little laugh.

My dear Len, these children really have changed you. In the past, you used to hog your violin at every second possible, but now you're so relaxed, you've learnt to let and enjoy life. You're catching up with the little joys in life that you've missed. You're opening up, Len. And I happy for you.

The night has finally arrived. The concert Len had spent so much time preparing for would finally be taking place tonight, 8pm, at the National Concert Theatre. By 11 in the morning, Len was already in full attire. He was dressed in the usual black tuxedo, a swallow-tail coat and a red bowtie to top it off. He was busy putting rosin on his bow when Kahoko barged into him room, complaining that Keichii had tied her ribbon into a granny knot. Azuma poked in to see what the fuss was about and burst out laughing when he saw the crooked ribbon on Kahoko's head.

After a great deal of hassle, the Tsukimori family had arrived at the theatre, Len had to report early so Megumi was in charge of taking care of the children. When the time finally arrived, the children eagerly took their seats in the hall. A few moments later, the lights dimmed and a single spotlight beamed at a corner where a man was standing.

"Presenting the National Japanese Orchestra," the emcee announced. "And our guest, concert master, Tsukimori Len." The audience erupted as the violin prodigy walked onto stage. He face was cold and serious. Then somewhere among the crowd came a loud whistle and a frenzy of claps. Kazuki was whistling with his fingers and the rest clapped enthusiastically. Ryoutaro was having a hard time with the stares. Len found them immediately and gave a stern glare which seemed to say, Sit-down-you-noisy-kiddies! At last, the clapping died down and the clarinet sounded the A for tuning.

Vivaldi's "Spring" bloomed into theatre as the orchestra began. It was warm, bright and golden. Outside, the blizzard brewed on, but inside, it was the peak of spring. The children listened and let their hearts change with the music. Megumi sat quietly at the edge, and was impressed that none of the children were sleeping at all. Soon the orchestra moved on to the second song, Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D. It was gentle and moving the beginning, then it became more turbulent and wild. Like an unsteady person switching through moods without warning.

When the orchestra finished playing, Len's entourage of adoring fans came flooding to the stage, armed with flowers, boxes of chocolates and cards. Somewhere among the crowd, a young kid stood on his chair and whistled, cheering as if he were watching a football match. Len wanted to give Kazuki another annoyed glare again, but something stopped him. Usually, after all performances, he would feel annoyed that he hadn't done better. But today, he felt happy. He felt that he had given his best shot and his audience loved it. He gave a little smile and bowed just for them, and then he too exit to the backstage.

* * *

After what seemed like a long time for the children, the orchestra members were finally officially released, Len quickly bolted for the car park where he had told the children to wait. Sure enough, they were there waiting eagerly for him. He put down his violin case and presents and crouched down, arms open as the children ran towards him. Throwing themselves at him, Len was knocked off his feet. They laughed and giggled as they clambered over the star of the night.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"Teach me to play like that! Ok?"

"I wished you had more solo parts…"

Sitting up, Len sighed and brushed the creases off his coat. His broad grin was still plastered over his face. "Ok, ok! I promise." Len smiled. "But I need energy to fulfil all my promises, so why don't we head home to rest? We can grab ice cream along the way."

The children clapped in agreement. They got off Len and helped to take his things. Len got back on his feet, retrieved his violin case from the ground, and the whole family walked into the night.

When they were a few feet away from the car, Len took out his car key and unlocked the car through censor. The children raced to the car, leaving Len lagging behind with Ryoutaro. Just as he neared the car, Ryoutaro pulled his arm. Len turned around, only to find Ryoutaro looking away, his grip still on Len's arm.

"What's wrong?" he queried.

"I… I've got something to tell you…" Ryoutaro said uneasily.

His gaze fell to the ground, and a shade of pink creeped up his cheek. He opened his mouth and closed it again. Then he plucked up his courage and looked Len straight into the eye.

"I have a girlfriend," he finally confessed.

Thus began the start of Len's biggest problems.

* * *

This marks the end of chap 6! :D Thanks for reading… and I promise that I will keep to my deadline the next time T_T I hope I got Keichii's sister's name right. Haha.

Oh, this is the link you guys can listen to for Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D : .com/watch?v=zXe1Biqw3h4

Until we meet again! HAPPY 2011!

* * *

EXTRA : A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A TSUKIMORI (3)

It was intoxicating. The way the sweet liquid rolled over his tongue and flowed down his throat. The tin can was a cold touch on his lips and the fizz filled his nostrils. Kazuki was addicted to Coca-cola. After a few more gulps, he reluctantly removed the can from his mouth, gave a satisfied sigh and let out a contented belch.

"BUUUUUUUUUUURRRRPP!"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"OMIGAWD!"

"KAZUKI!"

"YOU FRIGGIN' GROSS!"

Kazuki snorted and continued drinking. Ever since he first drank it from the vending machine 30 minutes ago, he had fallen in love with it. However, he didn't seem to fancy Pepsi or Sprite, only Coke. This addiction of his had earned him a disturbing side effect.

"You burp like a giant frog…" criticized Keichi.

"Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!" Kahoko pouted.

The children kept their distance from Kazuki. Everyone was disturbed by his new habit. They couldn't eat without feeling the urge to throw up, watch television without being interrupted or do homework in peace. Kazuki let out another string of belches.

"Stop it or I'm telling Len-nii," Ryoutaro said strictly.

"Len-nii doesn't know?" asked Kazuki.

"Yea, he was practicing upstairs when we went out to grab the drinks," Ryoutaro said.

"Len-nii~ doesn't~ know~" Kazuki hummed cheekily.

"Oh no you don't…" Ryoutaro didn't like where this was heading.

"Hey, I dare you to burp extremely loud while Len-nii's playing," Azuma dared.

"Azuma! Don't encourage him!"

But it was too late, Kazuki had grabbed a fresh new can and was creeping up the stairs, the rest of the children in close pursuit.

"Oy! Stop it! He's gonna be mad!" Ryoutaro hissed, creeping after them.

As they neared Len's room, they could hear the sounds of his violin. Kazuki cautiously opened the can and started to gulp its contents. After he had drunk about half of the can, the children readied themselves by placing their hands over their ears. But Kazuki did not stop there, he continued to drink.

"Oh my God! He's going for the whole can!" Kahoko whispered excitedly.

Len could hear the children mumbling through the ajar door. But he decided to ignore them. What are they up to now?

Finally, Kazuki finished the can.

"It's coming!"

He removed the cold tin can from his lips.

"Brace yourselves!"

And let out a satisfied sigh.

"God bless Len-nii's soul…" Ryoutaro muttered.

The children braced themselves for the belch of the century.

But no one expected,

The belch

To evolve into…

… a fart.

"!"

Like an explosion, it drowned the children's laughter. Outside, the birds stopped chirping and pedestrians stopped in their tracks. Howling with laughter, they failed to see Len open his door. Greatly annoyed, his eyelid twitched as he scowled at the trouble-makers.

"I AM DISGUSTED!"

They couldn't stop laughing.

* * *

This bonus was quite… disturbing. Hahahaha. I hope that none of you are reading this in a public place… otherwise I'm very sorry for the stares you're receiving. Heh heh.


	7. On Love

Even I am appalled at my own hiatus. To continue the story with an ordinary approach would not suffice, so the beginning of Chapter 7 will be a brief synopsis of what has happened before. A thousand apologies.

And I hope you will be willing to once more plunge into this story of mine with equal enthusiast.

ONWARD LA CORDA! (LOL)

The story so far (due to my hiatus)

Len was 21 when he took in the 6 orphans, so far Kazuki's and Azuma's relatives have surfaced. Kazuki's mom was thrown in jail, Azuma's grandma MIA-ed, fear not I'll bring her back, and recently Ryoutaro's confesses that he has a girlfriend. Just who is this lucky girl and how did it happen will be told now. (I bet ya'll probably can guess who she is ahahaha)

Chapter 7 : On Love

It has been three weeks ever since Ryoutaro told Len the shocking news. _I have a girlfriend. _Len rubbed his temples and sighed to himself. Upstairs, the door opened and Hamai Misa walked out full of disappointment. Behind her, Ryoutaro followed her down the stairs, his gaze fixed on the floor and his face full of guilt.

"How was the lesson?" Len lifted his head.

Hamai Misa just pursed her lips and gave a dismayed look at the young boy.

"He has great talent, but he seems to be rather distracted lately."

_That's because he has a girlfriend… _A voice dreaded in Len's head. Hamai sighed and saw herself out of her son's house while Len returned to the couch.

Len directed his question at the young boy. "What's wrong? You were fine two weeks ago, what happened, you got yourself a second girlfriend?"

"No, it's just that, she asked me out on a date."

Len raised an eyebrow. "She asked _you_ out? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"And she asked me to pick a 'romantic' place to eat, but Len-nii, I don't have any idea at all!" Ryoutaro looked at Len in distress, hoping that this older and "experienced" man in front of him would be able to give him some advice. But Len just looked away, because he didn't have the slightest idea either.

Len was saved from the agony of Ryoutaro looking at him with pleading eyes when Keichii entered the scene with a bunch of music theory books.

"Len-nii how do you transpose a horn?"

"Horns always sound lower," Ryoutaro replied before Len, reaching for the theory book. "Here I'll show you." Keichi climbed up beside Ryoutaro on the other side of the sofa and Len took this opportunity to escape.

He needed real advice. And even though he hated to admit it, the only person he could turn to now is none other than that gossip-machine Amou Nami.

"Helloooo~ The awesome Amou speaking!" greeted Amou.

"Morning Amou-san, listen, I need some advice…"

"Hold on! Could you repeat that? Did the Great Len Tsukimori just ask me for advice? God I need to record this call!"

"Spare me the drama Amou-san,"

"Hahaha, just kidding. Wassup?" Amou hummed. Len could hear the coffee machine whirring in the background.

"Ryoutaro has a girlfriend and…" But his words were cut off by a loud distortion on the other end of the line. There were clattering sounds and Amou's voice returned after a while.

"Sorry I dropped the phone." She said, clearing her throat. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"I wish I was joking," sighed Len. "What's wrong with kids these days anyway? Isn't 12 a little too young?"

"Well he'll be 13 in 3 months."

"That's not the point…"

"Ok, so he got himself a girlfriend. So what? Is his guy friend jealous?"

Len never thought about that. "No…"

"His girlfriend's bestie is jealous cause they both like the same guy?"

"What? This ain't some Shoujo manga you know."

"You're jealous?"

"Nice try."

"Then what?!"

Lowering his voice to a whisper, "His girlfriend asked him out on a date."

Another episode of distortion and frantic scattering sounds answered Len. Amou's phone obviously slipped off her hand again. When her voice finally returned to the phone, she blurted, "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

I'm so glad you think the same way as me, Len thought to himself.

"That's what I told him. And apparently she asked him to bring her to a romantic place to eat. However, the problem is…"

"YOU HAVE NO ROMANTIC SUGGESTIONS FOR HIM HAHAHAHAHAHA." Amou finished him off in a burst of hysteric cackling.

He held the phone a few inches from his ear in distaste until Amou's cynical laughter finally died down.

"HAHA sorry it's just so funny to think that a high school heart throb has no idea where to bring a lady to for dinner hehehehe," Amou giggled.

What she said did have some truth in it. Len was a, how would you call it, a music/study-holic? He only cared about studying and getting that overseas scholarship during his studying years in Seiso Academy. He did hear occasional giggling of girls when he walked past them. Childish, he told himself then, and swatted them away without a second thought. I have no time for such petty relationships.

Len tried to remember the last time he actually liked somebody, and realized how pathetic his love life was. Does loving my mom count? Len wondered.

"Say how about meeting at Roberts in five minutes sound?" Len blurted. Speaking to her in person would probably be more productive.

"Ok sir, luckily for you today is one and only rest day of the week," Amou rebutted sarcastically.

Len grumbled and said a thank you before hanging up.

Quickly grabbing his wallet and coat, he saw Ryoutaro and Keiichi in the living room lying on their stomaches buried in theory books.

"Ryou, I'll promise to give you an answer by tonight."

The young boy lifted his head and flashed an innocent grin at him before returning to the clefs and bar lines. Len took a longer glance at him, he sure didn't look like someone who was in a relationship, or even one who was ready for a relationship.

As arranged, both adults met in the little café down from Len's house at seventeen minutes past noon. Len was drumming his fingers impatiently as he watched Amou's taxi roll into the parking area. She was wearing a dark blue dress with a white ribbon belt and an orchid brooch. A cream overcoat hung all the way to her calves and she had rose ear muffs over her head. January was still a chilly month, luckily the children were on winter break, Len couldn't imagine the medical expenses if they were all to come down with flu, fever or frostbite.

Amou entered the café and her honeyed long curls made several heads turn and some eyebrows to rise. Walking casually to where Len was seated, some of the male customers watched her with hungry eyes as this elegant tall lady approached the very lucky man in their opinion. Despite how majority of the people in the café regarded her as attractive, Len merely greeted her with the same poker face.

"You're late," he muttered.

One of the waitresses overhead him gave a little gasp, such an unbecoming attitude for a young man, totally unfit for a woman of such beauty.

"I understand that you have come to seek my help, have you not?" Amou asked irritably, "Please show a little more enthusiasm."

Len realizing he was indeed at her mercy, gave a sincere apology reluctantly.

"I've decided that for you to give the best quality advice to your young Ryou, you must have first hand experience of a proper date."

Len was quiet. He had a peculiar feeling about where this was heading. "And how do you propose I achieve this?" He tested the waters.

The attractive young woman opposite him with the pale sapphire eyes and locks of gold smiled cheekily.

"You sir, shall go on a date," she started.

He retracted, and braced his fate.

"With me."

Oh God. His premonition came true.

"N-now?" Len stuttered meekly.

"No, when we're eighty and old and on walking canes. C'mon." She said impatiently, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him out of the café.

Len merely had time to leave change and tip for the coffee and grab his coat before he was whisked by the woman in clacking heels into the open cold air. Oblivious to him was the silent clamour of the male customers when they left. For they had prayed they were not a couple, but alas her actions spoke otherwise. Crushed, they returned to their grey lives of sipping coffee and reading newspapers while the vibrant 'couple' started on their date on in the streets.

"Before we do anything, let me make one thing very clear," Amou broke. "Don't you dare fall in love with me."

Len snorted.

"Ooooh, you've got a lot of growing up to do, little boy," the girl said as she pulled him into the main street.

Len hastily wore his coat and gloves before Jack Frost could nip at his fingers. "So where are we going?" Len asked absentmindedly as the rows of shops and restaurants flashed past him.

"Lunch!" Amou slowed her pace. "I assume you're paying."

"Can't make a _lovely_ lady like you pay, can I?" Len remarked sarcastically.

"There! You're learning already! Good for you!" Amou took a sharp turn into an Italian restaurant at the end of the row. Petite and cozy, the waiter gave them a table by the window where there was privacy and sufficient sunrays.

"Rule number one, always wait for the girl to order first before ordering something more expensive than what she ordered. So that she won't feel like she's sucking your money."

Len never knew that. He definitely wouldn't mind paying more for the girl, but what Amou said made some serious sense.

"Two, only start eating when both dishes have arrived and three, pace yourself such that you two finish at approximately the same time. It'd be awkward if either one finished way early and had to watch the other eat."

Again Amou spilled her golden nuggets of advice onto Len.

While they waited for their food to arrive, Amou started conversation by asking, "Tell me, what kind of girls do you like?"

Len was surprised at the question. "It's personal." He brushed her off.

"Good good. I wasn't expecting a straight answer from you. But this question should help you to think about Love more seriously, about who you want to date properly or just for a fling." Amou rambled.

"Get to the point," Len asked suspiciously.

Her blue gaze met his darker azure orbs intently. "Nothing gets pass do, huh." She swirled the straw around her Shirley Temple lazily. "I'm talking about Ryou, obviously. He doesn't look like he's serious in the relationship at all."

It was as if Amou was speaking right from his heart, Len felt a strange connection to this lady whom he'd always deemed annoying.

"Speaking from the point of an honest friend, girls at that age mature much faster than boys do," she started, looking carefully at him after every few words to make sure she didn't offend him.

"Go on," Len urged.

"And my guess is that, she has matured to the point where love has opened its doors on her and like a new thrill, her adventurous spirit brought her to Ryou. I'm not saying she isn't serious. Boy, girls at that age are as serious as anything, but no matter what, she is _still_ immature."

"And your point?" Len still didn't quite get what Amou was trying to say.

Sighing, she said bluntly, "I'm asking you, to tell Ryou to reconsider his relationship seriously. Love isn't just a game for two." Amou paused. "Didn't that line sound like it came from a song? Anyway," she continued, "it is mutual, and it is about respect, happiness, and most importantly, growing up."

There was a moment of silence as the words sunk into Len. I don't fully understand what she's saying. I get the part about happiness, isn't that why couples are always smiling? But not the rest, because…

"I've never been in love." Len whispered. It wasn't meant for anyone to hear, but it was sort of like his silent cry.

"Understanding Love is something that takes time, and repeated heartbreaks. Someone once told me, the only time someone has fully grown, is when he or she has had fallen in love with three types of people. The first is the best friend, to teach the person of the fine line between friendship and love. Second is the perfect partner. To teach him or her that no one is perfect. And lastly, the person who is very alike to him or her, to bring to light the flaws they have. Sometimes these three types need not be three different people."

Len swallowed each syllable. He may not have gone through love before, but his maturity at age twenty one was sufficient in enabling him to understand what Amou just said.

"So actually today's 'date' had no purpose."

"Yeap, it was just my ticket to a free lunch," Amou smiled as she eyed the food being served.

"Itadakimasu!"

Len and Amou walked out of the Italian restaurant an hour later, Amou with a rounder stomach and Len with a lighter wallet.

As they walked to the nearest taxi stand where Len offered to pay her taxi fare, Len suddenly said, "I never knew you were capable of saying such deep things." Immediately a hard smack greeted his back as he jerked in surprise.

"Nyaahhh~ saying that isn't going to make me happy you know!" Amou said embarrassingly as she obviously tried to contain her smile. Len rolled his eyes.

When a cab slowed down in front of them, Amou took a piece of folded paper out from her purse and handed it to Len.

"The reason why I was late," she winked.

"What am I, your homeroom teacher?" Len rebutted.

The taxi drove off and Len could still see her waving from the back window, he raised his hand briefly. Then when the taxi turned a corner, he went in the opposite direction, loosening the top button of his coat as the afternoon sun started to warm the air. He walked and unfolded the paper. Inside was a passage written by Amou. Her cursive handwriting filled the page like art on a canvas. Len continued to walk on, but not towards home. Instead, he walked in the stark opposite. Where his destination was he did not know, all he knew was that he wanted to walk. To momentarily detach himself from living and do some thinking, for what Amou had written had touched him rather deeply.

Later in the evening, after Megumi had left the Tsukimori mansion, leaving left over dinner on the stove and the place spick and span, a shadow advanced along the slope upwards. The silhouette was of a man who owned the mansion at the top of the slope, but he had changed slightly. His perspective on life had grown.

The children were goofing around as usual. Kazuki was imitating commercials and the younger kids were cheering him on. Then the commercial about Tiger Beer came on and Kazuki was trying his best to imitate the guy saying 'Let's discuss this over a Tiger.' The children roared with such laughter they did not hear the front door open and close.

Azuma was in his room studying school content a grade higher than him and Ryou was practicing the piano, lacking the glib he used to have. Len knocked before entering, and simply handed him the same paper Amou gave him.

"I found the answer," he said.

Ryou took the paper slowly, lowering his head while keeping his gaze on the man in front of him.

"Thanks," he managed.

"Don't thank me, thank Amou the next time you see her. Good luck," Len said before closing, and opening it again suddenly, "to your relationship and your piano playing."

Ryou carefully unfolded the paper when his handphone vibrated.

**MESSAGE FROM SAKIMOTO 3**

A contact picture of a neoprint that they took a while ago popped up above the text. It was of them smiling and Sakimoto had cheekily drawn a bruised eye and a moustache on Ryou. Her confession one month ago still stayed arched in his memory. It was so sudden for her to enter the library and just walk right up to him and ask him to go out with her. He had witnessed girls who cried when his friends rejected their confession, and he definitely didn't want this girl to start crying in the library, so he said yes on a whim. He wouldn't say he regretted it, it was a nice feeling to walk out of school with a girl, whether they held hands or not. Or going to arcades and having dinner. Personally he thought she was a pretty nice and cute girl who just had nothing better to do than to spam his inbox all day.

The text read: **Helloooo! I was shopping when I saw this really cool shirt that I'd think you'd look great in! Time to get you a wardrobe change hehe. O(^0^)O**

Attached was a picture of a flannel shirt with black and gold checked design. Ryou cringed at the sight of that piece of garment. It certainly wasn't to his liking at all.

Ryou was thinking of a reply to her when another message crashed into his inbox.

**Watcha doing? Bet you're playing the piano again WAHAHAHAHAHA. Play less piano and spend more time with me k? :3**

Ryou replied with a cold 'k'. She was starting to get on his nerves.

He placed the phone on the top of the piano and resumed unfolding the paper when his phone vibrated again.

**It took me 5 minutes to type all that and all you can say is k? =_=**

How does that girl type so fast? Ignoring her, he read the contents of the paper.

_On love: Love is found when one is not searching for it. Love is found when one is focusing on what makes them happy, healthy and whole. Love is found when one is walking through the woods after the rain has fallen and they stumble upon a clearing with a single tree._

_When you find love, make sure it is mutual in respect, care and happiness. Do not make the mistake of finding a partner who changes who you are, who does not respect you, and who does not directly contribute to your happiness. Finding love is not a game. One should not attempt at a poor mimicry of love because their friends have found the "One". It is likely they haven't. REALLY bloody likely. Especially if they're in their teens. Finding a soul mate between the ages of thirteen/twenty-two is as likely as finding a hot cup of tea in the snowy hills of Greenland._

_Do not be jealous of the girl or guy who has a special connection with your love. Friendships like that are necessary in life. Instead of feeling anger, go find a special friend of your own. Your love has one, why not you? Of course, if you happen to find love in an incredibly close friend, hell, more power to ya._

_If someone rejects you, remember this: it is not the end of the world. It is okay to feel sad. But it is not okay to drag yourself into a heap of despair because the "ONE" said no. _

_Do not let hormones, excuses and that general feeling of infatuation blind you from the flaws in a possible mate._

_And never let your sight be so narrow that you miss a kindred soul, standing right next to you, who may wish to shine light on your dark days and bring you chocolate and tea when you feel like absolute shit_

I'm quite amazed at how this chapter started out as light-hearted and goofy and evolved into something so serious towards the middle o.O

Anyway if you were wondering where I got that awesome text On Love from, all I can say is that I did my homework and research :D Nope unfortunately it wasn't written by yours truly, but I thought it fitted the story rather well. Don't cha?

On to bonus and looking forward to your reviews!

EXTRA : A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A TSUKIMORI (4) _ESPECIALLY LONG_

Len was grumpier than usual. He clucked his tongue in irritation and stared out of the window. A mass of clouds greeted his view and all he could see was an endless blue on the horizon. Then his body felt a sudden but slight afloat sensation as the plane started to descend. Finally, when Len looked out of the window for the zillionth time, he could see land.

Hastily buckling his seatbelt, he placed the earphones in the given plastic bag and stuffed them at the side of his seat. The plane came to a gradual halt and through the speaker, the passengers could hear the pilot thanking them for flying with Japan International Airlines, signaling that they could finally gather their luggage and make their way to the platform.

He got up to retrieve his bag from the upper compartment and walked through the cabins towards the arrival platform. 5 weeks in Germany had really made Len miss his home country dearly. He didn't think he could survive another day with nothing to eat but meat, wrust, and big, creamy bowls of soup. Rolling his shoulder around, he sighed as he started to feel the effects of sitting down for 14 hours.

He approached the luggage belt and his eyes scanned the belt for a midnight black traveler. His face brightened up when he found it amongst other luggage and grabbed it as it passed by. Len then made his way towards the arrival hall where a crowd of people had gathered, all anxiously looking out for their loved ones. He knew that no one would be there to greet him, because, after all, it was Sunday and the children were still soundly asleep at home. Len couldn't wait to return to them, he had bought lots of gifts that he was sure they would certainly adore.

"Len-nii!" An unfamiliar voice called. Len turned around and came face to face with a young and pretty red-head. She wore a yellow sundress and a shawl over her shoulders. She giggled and took Len's hand.

"I'm sorry, I think you have mistaken me for someone el-" stuttered Len. But she did not hear him, for she had turned around to call out to the two adults standing some distance away.

"Kazu-nii, Shouko, I found him!"

Len was dumbfounded. Kazu? Shouko? He stared long and hard at this girl, has he met her somewhere before? Her long crimson hair was tied up neatly and her golden eyes twinkled with joy as the other two adults approached her. Ka-Kahoko? No it can't be, Kahoko's only seven!

"Yo! Len-nii!" the sunny male smiled at him.

"Shouko, did you manage to contact Azuma?" the Kahoko-look-alike asked, her hand still holding onto Len's.

A younger girl with pale green hair and rose eyes frowned at her hand phone screen. "Yes, he says he should be here in 5 mins with Keichi." She put her hand to her chin and stared intently at her handphone screen. The man whose apparent name was Kazu-nii peered over her shoulder.

"Adam again?"

The girl looked up in shock, and the next thing she knew, her face was all red. Who is Adam? Len wondered.

"Haha, you're so easy to read," the man laughed. The pendants on his necklace jingled as he took a step back, he pulled his cap lower and gave a cheeky grin. That grin and laughter, it's exactly like Kazuki!

"Has Adam confessed yet?" he teased.

"Kazu-nii…" whined the girl. The man looked like he was about to say something again when suddenly, squeals and excited shouts erupted from behind.

"OHMYGOSH! IT'S KAZUKI FROM INSANITY CRIB!"

A group of girls glomped onto the startled man. "Can I have your signature?" "Take a picture with me!" "Where are the other members?" They threw questions at him relentlessly and kept clinging onto to him. Kazuki gave a sheepish smile and patiently did their requests. Len and the two ladies gradually distanced themselves from Kazuki and his cluster of fan girls.

"I guess wearing a cap didn't help much, eh?" An elegant voice said. That voice is deeper and more refined, but it's definitely Azuma's, Len's mind was racing.

"Azuma! You're here! Finally!" Kahoko said as a gentleman with long silky violet hair approached them, a blonde male tagged behind him.

"It's hard trying to stay unnoticed when you're a famous music idol," the blonde spoke. He gave a little yawn and glanced at his watch. "I wonder when Ryoutaro's going to arrive…" The blonde had eyes that always seemed half asleep, messy yellow hair and a tendency to space out. Ohmygod, Shimizu! What is happening?!

Azuma asked Len how he was doing in Germany, but Len was too bewildered to reply. Kazuki finally managed to free himself from the fan girls and Len was just about to open his mouth to say something when a young boy dashed towards the group of adults, straight into Len's arms.

"Len-nii!"The young boy exclaimed excitedly.

For a moment there, Len's mind experienced what you would call a mental block as he stared into the young boy's eyes. Short, scruffy green hair and jade green eyes, it was unmistakably Ryoutaro. Len let out a sigh of relief, finally, someone he recognizes. He lifted the boy and gave a smile.

"How are you?" He asked. Maybe all these adults around him that had similar names as the children were just a coincidence. Yes, just a coincidence. An uncanny coincidence it is. Len was desperately trying to lie to himself. And this boy in his arms was the only thing that was keeping Len was losing his sanity. Ryoutaro. Ryoutaro. Ryoutaro.

"Reiichirou!" a low voice called. A man with the same hair and eye colour as Ryoutaro approached the gang. A young lady followed behind him, a baby cradled in her arms. His skin was tanned and a frown formed upon his angular face. Ryoutaro immediately leapt off Len and ran towards the man.

"How many times did I tell you to address Len-nii as Ouji-san or jiji," the man said, clucking his tongue.

Ryoutaro smiled an apologetic grin and said, "Sorry, Papa."

"Ryoutaro?" Len stuttered.

"Yeah?" The older man replied.

"No, I'm referring to Ryoutaro…"

"I am."

Wait a minute! Hold it! Pause everything! JUST WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS HAPPENING! A voice in Len's mind was practically screaming. Len's mouth hung as he stared from "Ryoutaro"/A-man-who-looks-like-Ryoutaro to Ryoutaro-but-his-name-is-Reiichirou to the other adults around him. His mouth opened and closed several times, wanting to say something but not sure to say in this kind of situation.

He was practically gaping like some looney when the baby cradled in the woman's arms started to cry.

"Hush now," the woman said, rocking her arms to and fro.

"What's wrong?" the older Ryoutaro asked.

"Nothing, just sleepy," the woman said. She looked up at the man with a passionate gaze and the older Ryoutaro placed a hand over her shoulder. They're a family! Wait, Ryoutaro has a family! That is his wife? His child? His son?!

This was too much for Len to take. He stumbled away, leaving his luggage there as he made a dash for the toilet. The adults were puzzled when Len suddenly broke into a run and called after his running figure. Len could hear Kazuki shout his name from behind and knew that he was chasing him. But he was in no mood to speak to anybody, he needed some time to think. Pushing the door open, Len collapsed on the floor. He tried to stand up, but his legs were shaking so bad he had to grab the door frame for support. Ohmygod, what's happening! This must be some mistake! He clambered onto the sink and splashed some cold water on his face.

"Len-nii!" Kazuki called from outside, rapping the door anxiously. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine! Don't come in!" Len shouted in reply, and froze in fear when he realized that he didn't recognize the voice coming from his own throat. It had become lower and coarser. He tried to clear his throat but it just hurt more. Trembling, he turned on the tap again and almost shrieked when he realized that his hands had become wrinkly. Maybe it's just the water; water makes your skin wrinkly after all. But Len knew it was just a desperate lie. He looked up at the mirror, and the next thing he knew, he had fainted.

For in the mirror, Len saw himself,

as a decrepit old man.

"AAHHH!" Len shot right out of bed. His blanket and pillows were thrown all around the floor and he realized that he had woken up at the other side of the bed. Panting, he brought his hand up to his forehead where beads of cold sweat had formed. Wiping them away, he staggered out of bed and made his way to the toilet when Ryoutaro and the other children peered their heads in.

"Len-nii, are you alright? You were screaming."

"It's Sunday, I wanna sleeeeep~" Keichi whined.

Kazuki folded his arms and pouted. "And here I thought grown men don't have nightmares anymore."

Len stopped in his tracks. He stared at the children, and then dashed towards them, opening his bedroom door very wide.

"You! Ryoutaro!" he hollered.

Ryoutaro was startled. "Y-Yeah?" he stuttered.

"I FORBID YOU FROM GETTING MARRIED!"

Ryoutarou's eyes just popped. That's unreasonable… Don't go constraining me just cause you're jealous of me and Sakimoto.

"And Kazuki! DON'T LET ME SEE YOU BECOME A MUSIC IDOL!"

Kazuki's mouth dropped. But I'm Yuya's biggest fan!

All the children were gaping at Len like goldfish, mouths opening and closing mechanically. The blue-haired male shuffled his feet and pointed his crooked finger at the children one by one, then as his finger passed over the youngest child who was trembling in her pajamas, he stopped.

"If your boyfriend is a foreigner, you're dead…" he muttered under his breath.

By now, everyone's jaw was practically touching the floor. Len just swayed unsteadily, gave a little snort and slammed the door in their faces. He then stumbled his way to the toilet and stared long and hard at his own reflection, looking out for wrinkles and other old-people-symptoms.

The children stared at each other, trying to comprehend what just happened.

Then Ryoutaro broke the silence. "I know that he's not the type of morning person." He tried to reason, and the children leaned closer to hear his explanation about the crazy things Len just blurted. Surely Len's sanity deserved their doubt right?

"But that's just ridiculous."

They nodded in agreement, and went back to bed. Shouko pondered over what Len just told her as she made her way to her room, her teddy bear clutched in her hand. She just couldn't help but feel a little happy. Giggling, she pushed open the door and climbed into bed.

Len said I can't have a foreigner as a boyfriend… That means Sasaki is ok!

Yay! A bonus starring Len :DDDD This bonus is about Len's nightmare as he dreams about the children and himself 20 years from now. I kinda made him a little OOC but since it was in the dream, it's okayyy. HAHAHAHAHA.

Holy crap 5k words!


	8. Reunion with a chance of Poetry

Foreword: I published chapter 7 on a whim last week and when I went to the library to properly sort out my story, I was shocked to find that the timeline in Chapter 7 had been messed up. It was already Spring but I still wrote in the context of Winter. AAHHHH! I've corrected it, the plot remains just that now they weather has changed. (:

So anyway, to clear things up for everybody, I've done a simple timeline :D I decided to write into the future so don't be confused hahaha.

10th Nov 2012 – The day Len met the children (Chapter 1) As of this day, the ages of the children are

Tsukimori Len: 21

Tsukimori Ryoutaro: 12

Tsukimori Azuma: 10

Tsukimori Kazuki: 8

Tsukimori Kahoko: 7

Tsukimori Keichii: 6

Tsukimori Shouko: 4

Nami Amou: 21

I know in chap 1 I wrote their family names as the original one but they've been legally adopted so they must now wear the Tsukimori name :D

4th Dec 2012 - A month later, Shouko was discharged. (Chapter 2)

5th Jan 2013 – Shouko mops the floor in the bonus of chapter 5

7th Jan 2013 – First day of school for the children. (Chapter 4) They started school midway through the third trimester so they all have to repeat a year, and their first trimester will start on 1st April

9th Jan 2013 – Kazuki's mother, Hihara Hoshino, came for him. (Chapter 5)

16th Jan 2013 – Kazuki returned to the Tsukimori household. (Chapter 6)

1st Feb 2013 – The first day of Spring, and Len's concert day, where he played Vivaldi's Spring. Also the day where Ryoutaro confesses that he had a girlfriend since January.

21st Feb 2013 – Chapter 7. Len's and Amou's ''date'.

Because Amou's birthday was on 9th Feb, so from chapter 8 she is now 22 years old! As for Kazuki, he turned 9 on Dec 12th.

Elementary School isn't supposed to start till the children are 7 years of age in that year, but Shimizu was enrolled in Jushou Elementary despite being 6 because he is going to repeat the year anyway. Just saying hahaha. Same with Ryoutaro being enrolled in Junior High at age 12.

I never liked the idea of forewords, since it tends to reveal too much. And not many people read forewords either. Do you? To allow fellow readers like yourself to faster skip to the main storyline, I would just like to say that this Chapter took much more thinking than expected. I had so many ideas but I didn't want to cram them and threaten the liquidity of the plot.

But after finally completing it, I must say I'm rather satisfied. And I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did enjoy materialising them into existence :D

* * *

Chapter 8 : Reunion with a chance of Poetry

Ever since the day when Len and Amou had supposedly went on a "date", many things had happened. It seemed to Len that peace and quiet were now a thing of the past. As March drew closer, everyone was busy preparing for Kahoko's 8th birthday. It was the Tsukimori family's first ever birthday party, since Shouko spent her birthday in the hospital last year. The birthday party was unforgettable and everyone piped in one way or another to help out.

I'd rather not dwell on the events of the party. But it was truly delightful and would be a pity if it wasn't described at length. 27th February, it was a normal school day and even Kahoko had forgotten her own birthday. As absurd as it may sound, she couldn't even remember the last time she blew candles off a cake, thanks to 4 out of 6 years of her early childhood spent at the orphanage. The moment the children had been sent to school Len drove straight home and together with Megumi they put up the decorations. The doors were decked with pom-poms and the kitchen was set up with an Enchanted Garden theme, with toadstools for chairs and a lavish candle lamp in the middle.

When Len went to pick up Shouko, she couldn't stop asking him whether he had finished setting up the preparations. She asked everything from the party elf hats to the Orchid shaped cake. Len nodded mechanically, reassuring Shouko that he had not missed out anything especially with Megumi around during the preparations.

The school bell of Jushou Elementary tolled and the silhouettes of 4 children slowly emerged from the shadows of the entrance. Spring had fully awakened and the weather was lovely and cool. Len signalled Shouko with his eyes to stop asking questions so as to keep the surprise a secret. The children climbed into the car and Len got into the driver seat. Then they gently pulled out of the school gates and headed home.

In the car the children noisily shared their school events. Kazuki was going on about how cool his classmate's new game cards were. Azuma started laughing when he told them of how he saw Shimizu standing outside the class asleep on his feet. Everyone broke into a hearty laughter as Shimizu's faced turned pink.

The car rolled into the garage and everyone got out. As they headed for the door, Kahoko was surprised to find that their usual white door had a prop attached around the entrance. It resembled thick vines with festoons of flowers and leaves. Azuma opened the door for everyone, announcing loudly, "You are about to enter a Secret Garden, mademoiselle."

Behind, a trumpet blasted a fanfare tune. Kahoko was befuddled but giggled uncontrollably. Inside the house a flower carpet led the way to the dining table, which now looked nothing like their usual modern glass table with upright chairs. A wood-printed picnic mat lay over the table and toadstool cushions had been placed on the chairs. On each chair was a paper crown and a pair of elven ears. On the door archways hung the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS".

Even Megumi had dressed up in forest green and white like a elven server, a cake held sturdily in her hand. Everyone eagerly climbed atop the chairs and wore their elven props while Len specially pulled a chair back for Kahoko to sit, then daintily helped her wear her own props. Keiichi then arrived with a silver crown on a velvet cushion. He gave an awkward bow as Len took the crown from the cushion and placed it atop the special girl's head.

"Enjoy the party, Princess," he said it before withdrawing to his spot in the dining table.

Kahoko was absolutely elated. Her smile only grew bigger with each new surprise and she kept reaching out her hand to touch her. Just as Megumi dimmed the lights for Kahoko to blow out the candles, she suddenly asked about Ryoutaro. He was nowhere to be seen, and she didn't want to blow out the candles when the whole family was not yet assembled.

Like some lucky spell, Ryoutaro emerged from the doors, drapped in a red cape, epaulettes and a row of gilt buttons down the white uniform. He marched up to Kahoko elegantly and bent down on one knee before her. Kahoko let out a shy and surprised squeal. Then she started giggling again when she processed that Ryoutaro was pretending to be the elven prince to ask for her hand in marriage on this day. She giggled so much she couldn't give a straight answer. And Ryoutaro who was still on one knee felt rather silly so he stood up and started tickling her. She burst into tears and the other children decided to jump wagon.

Adorable was the word to describe the party.

* * *

Reluctantly March arrived, and with it brought an unexpected yet anticipated visitor. Spring break in Japan lasts from 22nd March to 31st March, with 1st April being the first day of school. The Tsukimori family had already laid out plans a month ago when Kahoko wished to have a holiday by the beach on her 8th birthday. But fate is a queer thing. When you're in lowest of spirits, it surprises you with hope, and when in highest spirits, they drag you down with the sourest news. On the morning of Spring Break, a young couple rang the doorbell, claiming to be Shouko's parents.

The luggage and beach toys were cluttered in a corner of the living room, and the children had reluctantly changed from their beach shorts and Aloha shirts into plain jeans and shirts. The guests sat opposite Len, the man had a short crop jade hair, stunningly resembling Shouko's pale emerald bob. The lady had waist long flaxen hair and they both wore travelling clothes, their gazes fixed on the youngest girl without discretion.

"When we first saw the news, we really couldn't believe our eyes." The father gave a disbelieving chuckle.

"And we even hired a private investigator to verify that the girl in the news were definitely our child."

"When he did, which was 3 days ago, we immediately rushed down from Osaka, full of excitement and brimming with hope that our family would once again be complete… And when I rang that door bell… I just… I…" He stared at the floor and brought his clasped fists to his chin, shaking his head repeatedly while the corners of his eyes slowly moistened. "It's fate…" he whispered. His voice cracking from sheer happiness.

Shouko eyed her parents stolidly. It wasn't that she was incapable of emotion, but these 2 adults struck no memory chord at all. When she left them she was only 30 months old, and her first memories were that of Ryoutaro. As Shouko was the youngest there then, Ryoutaro couldn't help but give her more attention and protection.

She moved closer to Len, grabbing his shirt with her tiny fist.

After the incident with Hoshino, Len couldn't help but be more wary of these two adults. He had made a mistake once by not checking out Hoshino's background. He offered more tea to the couple across him, casually slipping out his hand phone to request the mayor to do a background check on Fuyuumi Eiji and Fuyuumi Mitani.

The couple kept their gaze on her but neither dared to reach out to touch her. To caress those soft cheeks and comb their fingers through her delicate gossamer like hair. They felt like they did not deserve to hold her, especially when they were not there for her during her most needed times. And all they could do was stare at their child whom they had thought was gone.

The tension in the air was gaining thickness as Len searched for words to say. He didn't want to propose that they bring her home immediately, and Shouko didn't give any hint that she wished to close the physical distance between her biological parents and herself. Luckily, the tension dispersed when Kahoko's giggle echoed the living room. Her squeals gradated subtly. She tumbled into the living room with Kazuki behind her holding a toy light saber.

"I am your father!" he bellowed. Then he saw the guests in the living room and immediately fell silent to Len's glare. Kahoko was still oblivious and giggling away, her laughter chiming like a string of silver bells.

"Shouko, play with us?" The couple looked at each other.

Kazuki gave her the Len-is-staring-at-you-you're-dead gape, but surprisingly Len encouraged Shouko to join them. Lucky break. He thought to himself.

"I don't know how to put this," the father began. Seeing Shouko was out of hearing radius, he continued, "We were on a holiday. A-and, we were irresponsible… leaving an infant in the car while we went to the toilet. When my wife and I returned…"He paused to compose himself. "…our car and daughter were gone. It taught us a painful lesson."

"I was in shock for half a year, my wife took longer." His wife slowly put her fingers to her eyes and wiped. Len listened to the couple, casting no judgement upon them.

"We really wish that she could return home with us," the wife suddenly said. "But to her we would just be strangers. And besides, after her loss, we decided to start anew." She placed her hand on her abdomen.

"So…" Len quizzed, "what is your purpose here today? You aren't going to take her back, are you?"

"Oh no, after seeing what good hands she's in, we're relieved. On our way here, our sole purpose was to see her again. To check if she was in a place that made her happy. If she wasn't, we'd taken her back without hesitation. But after we saw the other children playing with her, we know that we can entrust our daughter's happiness to this household." The father stood up and reached for his wallet. "A token of our gratitude," he handed the wad of notes to Len. Len politely rejected the offer. He was feeling more relieved than the parents that Shouko would be staying.

After seeing them out of the gates, assuring them repeatedly that he would take extremely good care of her, he returned full of smiles and a wondrous feeling burning in his heart. After explaining the situation to the children, they cheered and changed back into their holiday clothes. Then they climbed into the car once more and they were off to their holiday in even greater spirits.

A Mercedes Benz was parked a distance away from the gates and the people in the vehicle watched the family car drive away. The chauffeur wore a tux and there were two bodyguards sitting beside an old but fit woman wearing a green kimono. She had her greying hair tied up tightly and her thin lips pursed at the sight of the vanishing car. She gave a little wave to signal to the chauffeur, muttering under her breath. "So that wretched kid my daughter died giving birth to is still alive."

* * *

There was never a bigger shock to the members of the Tsukimori household than Kazuki announcing that he was shortlisted for the Poem Festival finals in the under 12 category. Kazuki and poetry? Disastor. Everyone was befuddled. Ok, they admitted that Kazuki had great story telling and drama skills. "But poetry bores him like how everything except cello music bores Keiichi!" Ryoutaro exclaimed, laughing in disbelief as he took his seat in the auditorium. The hall was packed with anxious and excited families. Some were boasting about the talented child, how they had a unique liking to poetry and whatnot. Others were like the Tsukimoris, not having a single clue what they nor their child were doing here. The finals had a total of 20 competitors and only 1 grand winner. The rest would be giving Honor or Participation certificates.

"Maybe Kazuki will get a special reward. 'We made a mistake shortlisting you but thanks for appearing' cert," jeered Kahoko. The rest burst out laughing and Len had to shush them as the lights started to dim.

"I'm interested in watching Kazuki's performance," chuckled Azuma softly.

The organiser of the competition started out by thanking families and friends for turning up to support the competitors and then went on to explain the selection process. All Elementory schools across Tokyo either made the selection round a compulsory or optional one for their students, and Jushou Elementary had made it compulsory for their students to participate in the initial selection round. Students from across all levels had to prepare a poem and recite it in class while the teachers picked the best reciters to enter into the competition.

"Why weren't you selected?" Ryoutaro whispered to Azuma.

Everyone leaned in to hear. They were undoubtedly curious to hear why Azuma didn't get picked. He and poetry were like carrots and peas.

"They found Edgar Poe too dark," Azuma smiled innocently. Everyone shifted back into their seats uncomfortably.

Finally the competition was beginning.

The first few contestants were jaw dropping. They recited form memory will clear pronunciation and dramatic voices. They tone matching the poem.

Len glimpsed at Kazuki occasionally and was horrified but not surprised to find him dozing off. After the 5th contestant, the emcee called on Kazuki's name. "Next up is Tsukimori Kazuki, recited 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost."

Kazuki awoke with a startle and shuffled to the centre of the stage. He adjusted his tie and started tucking in his pants in front of everyone. Some parents laughed, others clicked their tongues in disapproval. He flashed his famous cheeky grin and took out a folded paper from his chest pocket. Holding it out in front of him, he cleared his throat loudly.

"I would like to share with all of you, a poem. By Robert Frost." Kazuki said uninterestedly.

"Two roads diverged in the woods. And I took the road less travelled." He said in a monotonous tone. The audience was awkwardly silent. The gap between him and all the previous contestants were so wide. Len could only slide down in his seat in embarrassment.

Suddenly, Kazuki crushed his paper and shouted into the mike, "AND IT HURT!"

The audience were caught off guard.

"IT HURT, MAN!"

This wasn't part of the poem. Was he improvising?

"ROCKS!" Kazuki overturned his hands and twitched his fingers, his expression showed comical disgust.

"THORNS!" He lifted up his foot as if in pain and started hopping on one leg.

"GLASS!" He despaired, holding his head between his hands.

"MY SHOES BROKE!" He then went on to remove his shoe, and holding his shoe in his right hand while revealing One Piece socks, he waved his shoe threateningly. "Not cool, Robert Frost."

Some laughter broke amongst the audience. Kazuki definitely had their attention now.

"That being said, take a look at Michael Jordon. What if he stopped playing basketball after not being able to get into the school team?" His gaze was intense and true. Then he broke that seriousness and said, "Ok he's stopped playing now. But that's different." Swatting his hand the way one would when they told a bad joke. He then brought his hand to his mouth the way one would when telling a secret and whispered. "_He's retired_." His mouth crooked and one of his eyebrows raised. More laughter broke. He really was a born comedian. "If he hadn't kept going, he wouldn't have made Space Jam." Kazuki was pacing across the stage. "And I _Love_ Space Jam." There was a hearty laughter amongst the audience now.

"Or how about Beethoven? What if he stopped composing music after he went cuckoo?" He covered his mouth quickly. "Ahem, I mean _deaf_." The audience were cackling now. "We wouldn't have DUM DUM DUM DUUUUMMM!" sang Kazuki with his arms outstretched as if banging an invisible piano, his head thrusted backwards in synchronisation. Some of the audience started clapping their hands and a few hysteric laughters broke.

"What Robert Frost was probably trying to say is, have guts!" He clenched his right fist and withdrew it inwards. "Take a risk!" He punched into the air in front. Then he stepped backwards, "And make a difference to society." He held his breath, before finishing with a "Thank you." And he bowed. The applause was deafening. It was a standing ovation.

* * *

Without question, Kazuki clinched top prize. The organiser said he had never seen such a kid with so much creativity and artistic potential. The rules of the competition were to recite a poem in the most engaging way. Some of the children recited original poems written by themselves, so Kazuki's improvisation of the Robert Frost poem was not fouled. The Tsukimori family was ecstatic. Kazuki winning a prize for Poetry! Len decided to treat them to ice cream at his usual haunt, namely the café where he had met Amou previously to salvage Ryoutaro's crisis.

As they journeyed there in the car, his throphy was being passed back and forth repeatedly until Len had to confiscate it and put it in the front with Ryoutaro as he claimed their passing affected his rear view mirror vision. They pulled in beside the café and the children filed out of the car. The owner recognised the ceruleanised-headed driver and immediately beckoned the children to a comfortable spot at a corner with full view of the television.

The owner of Robert's Café was a bespectacled guy with auburn hair that parted in the middle. He was a full-fledged Japanese who went by the name of Shinobu Ousaki. The name of his café had been inspired by his professor back in college when he was studying Servicing and Bakery. Robert Hillwell had always wanted to open his own café and entertain customers with his own music. But 2 years after Ousaki had graduated and finally got the license to his own shop, he searched for his professor to tell him the good news, only to find out that he had passed away 5 months ago from a heart attack. Hence in memory of his passionate and patient professor, Ousaki had named the café after him.

The kids scuttled about the café, exploring the jukebox and the counters while Len ordered 6 sundaes and 1 cup of black coffee. Len and Ousaki were on good terms with each other, which was rare since Len hardly got close to anyone, let alone a café owner. Ousaki being 11 years older than Len gained his respect on the night he played Beau Soir. Len was surprised that such a music talent was working in a lowly café when he could be playing for thousands and Ousaki blushed upon hearing the compliment. He then confessed to have studied music before majoring in Servicing.

Seeing Len brought joy to Ousaki as they both had a lot in common and often talked endlessly. As the waitress piled the sundaes on the tray, Ousaki offered to serve them personally, and maybe chat a little, if Len didn't mind, Ousaki thought. He had known about Len's decision to adopt the six children since last year, but this was the first time he had ever seen them.

Gliding the glasses of ice cream gracefully across the table, the children scurried back at the sight of the dessert. One, two, three… Ousaki counted as the children settled themselves. Then a flurry of red slipped under his nose and Ousaki stopped counting. She eagerly reached out for her Caramel Sundae and tucked in greedily. Ousaki still had his gaze fixed on her, his eyes undistracted and unmoving while in the back of his head a pool of memories surged.

"Kahoko… Hino Kahoko…?" he said questioningly. The children were still chatting away happily and oblivious. But Len and Kahoko eyed him with equal bewilderment.

Kahoko had seen that man before. She couldn't remember when or where. But he was definitely familiar.

* * *

Afterword: Just like the foreword, I wonder how many people actually read this part of the author's writings hahahaha. I confess that when forewords and afterwords get too lengthy and full of credits to editors and inspirations I too skip them :X

This chapter leaves many many question marks. Like the old woman in the car. Whose grandmother is she? Well we could strike out Kazuki and Shouko. And what were Shouko's parents names? I don't know. Hahaha. The anime/manga never mentioned them, and I couldn't come up with fancy names either. Ousaki a café owner? Now that's a first hahahahaha… But I like Ousaki, though his appearance was little and often fillers =.=

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EXTRA : A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A TSUKIMORI (5)

Today is Fiction Tuesday, which happens on the 3rd Tuesday of every month, and on such days the Tsukimori household decided that everyone would role play a character from any fiction story. Last month they did Avengers and Kazuki took advantage of it to throw pillows at everybody and blame it on his anger just because he was The Incredible Hulk. But they got bored of it because the costumes were so difficult to make given the clothes they had and supply of coloured paper and toilet paper.

This month, without much argument, they decided on Harry Potter after watching Deathly Hallows Part 2 which just released in the cinemas last week.

There was an uproar in the living room as the children fought over the roles. Kahoko couldn't decide between the brightest witch, Hermione Grangers, and the pretty Cho Chang. Shouko wanted to be Hermione but everyone said she should be Neville and this made her raving mad. Reasons because one, Neville was a boy and second, she absolutely preferred Potions to Herbology. Azuma was fine with any role but when Ryoutaro suggested Cedric Diggory Azuma complained that he didn't like Cho Chang nor did he want to die.

"Kazuki fits the image of Ron Weaseley. A blunder yet likeable." Kahoko commented.

"Nah, I'm too much for one person to handle. I insist on being both Fred and George Weasely at the same time." Kazuki cheekily replied.

After much debate and uproars and many retarded and unnecessary comments by Kazuki, they finally decided on the following roles.

Ryoutaro was to be Neville, he didn't think he was worthy being Harry Potter and the fact that he could sense You-Know-Who's emotions was far too much for him to handle. Azuma would be Draco Malfoy, though there was no Harry potter for him to make fun of. In the end Kahoko got neither Hermione not Cho but Ginny Weasely and Shouko got Hermione. Shizuku insisted that Owls and House Elves were important characters too, so he got Pidgewigeon, since Hedwig died.

In the end, they realised all their roles needed the crucial main character Harry Potter, in which no one seemed to fit the bill.

"But we left out someone." Shizuku said.

And all heads turned to Len sitting at the table reading his music encyclopedia.

Len didn't look up but the sudden hush hinted that the children had noticed his presence. He knew that soon they were going to do some hanky panky to him again. I guess peace and quiet can only last _SO_ long, he thought. He braced himself mentally and calmly flipped the page.

"Len as Harry Potter? Not in a million years." Kahoko whispered.

"Yeah he has no guts and no talent." Azuma nodded.

"But don't you think he fits someone one hundred percent?" suggested Ryoutaro.

Everyone grinned as the telepathic message spreaded through all their minds. The role was perfect.

"Snape! Snap! Severus Snap!" they chanted.

"Fifty points from Griffyndor!" Len snapped.

Azuma broke into an evil snarl.

"Ho ho ho. Serves you right Potterheads."

"IT WAS A TRAP! MALFOY LEAD US!"

Everybody clamoured onto Azuma, playfully drowning him in pillows and cushions and rolled up newspapers for wands. In between peals of silky laughter Azuma exclaimed, "My father shall hear about this!"

The next time they decided to do One Piece characters.

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Post Afterword: I LOVE ONE PIECE!


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